I'm a bit concerned. I've been referred in to the sleep Apnoea clinic for assessment due to excessive tiredness. This was done by my cardiac surgeon.
In passing he advised 'they may decide to take your driving licence off you whilst they treat it, if you're found to have sleep Apnoea. But you'll get sick pay.'
Sick pay is £13 a day!
My job relies on my being able to drive.
If I lose my job, I'm 57 with a heart condition and other disability. Realistically, that will be me done.
No one in the medical profession seems to be listening to this.
I would add, that if the job goes, and I'm thrown on the mercy of the dwp, then I'm going to give up. I will refuse ALL medication and let things go the way nature intends them to.
I cannot see the point in struggling to keep going if I'm going to be screwed over. (I guess this shows just how hard it has been holding everything together for the last 2 years)
That said, before I go nuclear and worry myself sick, I was wondering if anyone has had experience of the sleep Apnoea clinic and if so, how has it gone for you?
Hi snoweybrn. I was diagnosed with the same about 20 years ago. Luckily I didn’t have the type of sleep apnoea that made me fall asleep in the day or while driving. This is why they ask you to stop driving , fir your own and others safety.I only knew I had it because family complained about me snoring.
I did not drive for a week or so because I got a c Pap machine . The hospital monitored me and quickly decided it was all under control and I began driving again .
They tell you to inform DVLA , they do not take the licence away unless you refuse to accept the help the hospital give you.
You are not compelled to tell the DVLA but should anything happen as a result of your complaint then you may find the consequences more serious than not driving for a few weeks while your complaint is remedied.
I understand your feelings they are very valid but your safety is at concern not to mention that you are at risk of further heart problems if you don’t get your state of deprived sleep under control.
It’s another hurdle that you have been handed unfairly but that’s life. You have survived a heart event and come out the other side. Sleep apnoea is easily controlled and you will also feel very much better.
Not to nitpick, but I disagree: if you have a notifiable condition, you are compelled to tell them. It’s a legal requirement. In the event you have an accident that links back to a condition you haven’t informed them about, you’re looking at £1000 fine on top of potential criminal conviction. If you were to fatally injure someone, that could be for manslaughter, but even if no one died you would be looking at a significant driving ban. There have been calls for years for doctors to become mandatory reporters when patients shouldn’t be driving, primarily because many patients don’t report medical conditions when they should, and sometimes continue driving when they’re categorically not safe to drive on medical grounds.
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I understand what you're saying but my argument is that I don't have sleep Apnoea.. I have other conditions that may be confused as being sleep Apnoea.
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See my other reply - any kind of excessive sleepiness is a notifiable condition, whatever the cause.
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My other conditions don't meet the criteria for notifying the dvla... Diabetes type 2, a metal frame in my neck, being a 57 year old man with a prostate... If I have to notify the dvla because I'm losing sleep over these, then half the country is in trouble 😂
Hi Charlie G , I totally agree with you. I added that you are not compelled to inform DVLA because that is how it is ( or at least 10 years ago when I was diagnosed) you are asked to inform DVLA. I did add that the consequences of not doing so could be much worse.
If you have severe apnoea you are falling asleep even over your meals. Sometimes you are not really aware what us happening it’s usually your family who notice and make you get a doctors advice.
Fortunately I wasn’t falling asleep I was annoying everyone by loud snoring.
Take care xx
As per Fynndog’s reply, you potentially need to notify the DVLA, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to lose your licence, or need to temporarily stop driving. In relation to sleep apnoea, the DVLA stipulate that it’s a notifiable condition if it causes excessive sleepiness, specifically if you have:
- confirmed moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS), with excessive sleepiness
- either narcolepsy or cataplexy, or both
- any other sleep condition that has caused excessive sleepiness for at least 3 months - including suspected or confirmed mild OSAS
Excessive sleepiness should be taken to mean if you regularly feel the need to nap during the day, and/or if you find yourself falling asleep unexpectedly. The reason being that tiredness impairs anyone’s ability to drive, and if you’re overly tired you may fall asleep behind the wheel. Failure to notify them is a £1000 fine, and you could face criminal conviction in the event of an accident if it was found your condition was a factor and you hadn’t reported it.
I’m not suggesting that you’re considering not reporting it, but my background is as a qualified HR officer, and if there is a requirement to drive for work, particularly if your job is a ‘driving job’ (rather than travelling between sites for example), and you fail to notify the DVLA and follow their advice, you would be committing gross misconduct and could lose your job anyway if your employer found out. By failing to notify your employer of a medical issue effecting your ability to do your job that also could put others at risk, you would also potentially be guilty of gross misconduct. Your employer has a legal obligation to support staff with long term health conditions, and whilst going off sick would result in only receiving SSP, (which you may be able to top up a bit with universal credit if personal circumstances make you eligible), depending on the nature of your work, you could look at whether temporary redeployment is an option whilst waiting for a decision from the DVLA, or for treatment to mean you can resume driving if they say you have to stop temporarily. Employers would rather have you redeployed than off sick wherever possible, in most cases.
I know it feels like a bum deal, but speak to your employer before panicking. They may be able to suggest temporary alternatives.
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It is a bum deal. After the HA I gave my original job up because I couldn't deal with the internal politics in the company. In truth I have ptsd and cannot face many working environments. My current role is helping homeless and people who are in crisis which I am very good at as I totally understand how most of them feel.The dwp are not a good group of people to deal with. There are one or two exceptions, but on the whole they are either kids with no experience of life or at worst sadistic bastards who enjoy torturing their fellow man.
UC is around £400 per month. Pips is a nightmare to get as is DLA. As you've mentioned it's £13 a day (for 5 days a week) statutory sick pay.
I have NEVER fallen asleep at the wheel. I am NEVER drawsy when driving. I am. Not being listened to by. My consultant who seems hell bent on screwing my life up.
I feel very much cornered in with no viable options. Therefore, if I am driven down the road of having to surrender my. Licence then as far as I'm concerned (pardon the phrase) fuck it all. I'm going to stop fighting and give in. So much for 'do no harm'.
Thank you for trying to help with your experience. One of my degrees is largely HR based and as you can probably tell, I deal with the agencies who will likely be involved with me should things go the worst way, almost every day.
I feel cornered as stated. I'm not being listened to and I find just keeping going already is a daily battle. This for me, if it happens, is the tipping point.
The The Epworth Sleepiness Scale is a first step to diagnosis - you can do these online. This can point to sleep apnoea and the severity you will do a sleep study. I it is diagnosed they should give you a machine pretty much straight away and as long as you use it is then under control. I was diagnosed 15years ago - makes an incredible difference to my quality of life.
Before worrying about this please go to the sleep apnoea trust website and read their advice on driving, i have sleep apnoea and I didn’t have to surrender my license, i have a check every three years with the sleep unit to ensure i am compliant with treatment and that is sufficient for the dvla. The dvla places no restrictions as long as the treatment is working. The advice is always do not drive if you are tired whether you have a sleep condition or not
Thank you, I will take a look. What's freaked me out is that the first thing my consultant said was that I wa going to lose my licence. So I'll take your advice. Thank you again.
I have severe sleep apnoea and use a wonderful ResMed apnoea machine attached to an oxygen condenser. It has changed my sleep patterns from waking (and peeing) several times a night to sleeping soundly from 10:30 pm to 7:00 a.m. If anything, you will be feeling wide awake all day. Don't worry about the DVLA if you don't already have apnoea symptoms during the day. Any tiredness you currently feel during daytime will pass once you are sleeping properly. Good luck and best wishes.
I've got one of those machines but I'm having terrible problems using it. Is suffer with ptsd and the mask freaks me out. If, and it is a big if, I manage to get it on, as soon as I wake in the night I find myself pulling it off. So I'm stuck between wanting to use it and being unable to do so.
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Essay rant alert
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