A truck-driver who believes he has Obstructive Sleep Apnoea is faced with a dilemma.
If he goes to his GP and gets referred for a sleep-study consultation, then once the diagnosis is confirmed the driver must surrender his licence to the DVLA, and risk losing his job. If he takes the path of denial and carries on driving as though nothing has changed, he risks causing a fatal traffic-accident and receiving a lengthy prison-sentence.
As things stand, once the driver is established with CPAP therapy, he can apply to have his licence returned and resume driving.
The problem is the long delay between the driver first seeing his GP and getting started on CPAP Therapy to the point where he can have his licence returned. This is very often in excess of twelve months.
The time involved needs to be very much shorter, so the driver is off-work rather than out-of-work.
If you are/were an HGV driver, please let me have your views on the following points:
1. Did you put off visiting your GP because you felt you were putting your career in jeopardy?
2. How many visits did you have to make before the GP referred you to a sleep consultant?
3. How long did you have to wait for the appointment?
4. How long did you have to wait before you were started on CPAP Therapy?
5. From being diagnosed and surrendering your licence, how long was it until you got your licence back?
6. Do you continue to use CPAP regularly?
Your responses would be very much appreciated. It is the essence of a campaign I am conducting, and I very much welcome any input from CPAP Forum members.
Thank you again.
Richard
If he goes to his GP and gets referred for a sleep-study consultation, then once the diagnosis is confirmed the driver must surrender his licence to the DVLA, and risk losing his job. If he takes the path of denial and carries on driving as though nothing has changed, he risks causing a fatal traffic-accident and receiving a lengthy prison-sentence.
As things stand, once the driver is established with CPAP therapy, he can apply to have his licence returned and resume driving.
The problem is the long delay between the driver first seeing his GP and getting started on CPAP Therapy to the point where he can have his licence returned. This is very often in excess of twelve months.
The time involved needs to be very much shorter, so the driver is off-work rather than out-of-work.
If you are/were an HGV driver, please let me have your views on the following points:
1. Did you put off visiting your GP because you felt you were putting your career in jeopardy?
2. How many visits did you have to make before the GP referred you to a sleep consultant?
3. How long did you have to wait for the appointment?
4. How long did you have to wait before you were started on CPAP Therapy?
5. From being diagnosed and surrendering your licence, how long was it until you got your licence back?
6. Do you continue to use CPAP regularly?
Your responses would be very much appreciated. It is the essence of a campaign I am conducting, and I very much welcome any input from CPAP Forum members.
Thank you again.
Richard
Comment