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Advice given to psychiatric in-patients concerning driving: a completed audit cycle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Renarta Rowe  and
Andy Owen
Renarta Rowe
Affiliation:
South Warwickshire Combined Care NHS Trust, St Michael's Hospital, St Michael's Road, Warwick CV34 5QW
Andy Owen
Affiliation:
South Warwickshire Combined Care NHS Trust, St Michael's Hospital, St Michael's Road, Warwick CV34 5QW
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Abstract

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Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 25 , Issue 10 , October 2001 , pp. 400 - 401
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © 2001. The Royal College of Psychiatrists

Sir: There is evidence to suggest that people suffering from psychiatric disorder are more likely to be involved in road traffic accidents (Reference SilverstoneSilverstone, 1988). Moreover, there is a clear expectation that doctors should offer advice to their patients regarding their fitness to drive. It is therefore good practice not only to give such advice to patients but to document the advice adequately.

We examined the case notes of 45 patients consecutively discharged from an acute psychiatric hospital. In only four cases (9%) was there any evidence of advice having been given concerning driving. Following an educational programme to highlight this issue a further 60 case notes were examined, demonstrating no improvement in the recording of advice. This was evident even among those patients known to be drivers and who met Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) criteria for requiring guidance (DVLA, 2001).

There are many reasons why advice regarding fitness to drive may not be passed on to patients or documented in their case notes (Reference Humphreys and RoyHumphreys & Roy, 1995; Reference MorganMorgan, 1998). Failure to share the information with our patients may have lasting consequences; for the patient, the health professional and the general public. It is therefore important to highlight this issue and to incorporate it into clinical governance.

References

DVLA (2001) At a Glance Guide to the Current Medical Standards of Fitness to Drive. Swansea: DVLA.Google Scholar
Humphreys, S. & Roy, L. (1995) Driving and psychiatric illness. Psychiatric Bulletin, 19, 747–749.Google Scholar
Morgan, J. F. (1998) DVLA and GMC guidelines in ‘Fitness to Drive’ and psychiatric disorders: knowledge following an educational campaign. Medicine, Science and the Law, 38, 28–31.Google Scholar
Silverstone, T. (1988) Influence of psychiatric disease and its treatment on driving performance. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 3(Suppl 1) 59–66.Google Scholar
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