I was diagnosed with narrow angle glaucoma in both eyes a few years ago at the age of 57 after a sudden ocular hypertension episode. This led to laser surgery and eye drops and six-monthly appointments with a consultant. After informing the DVLA I had a VFT after which I received a 5 year medical review licence. At a visit to my Opthamologist in December 2019 it was stated my eye pressures were good and my condition was stable. Unfortunately due to COVID I didn't get another appointment until June 2022, 3 weeks after my DVLA VFT at the beginning of June. No concerns were raised at the hospital by my consultant.
Unfortunately as a result of this VFT at the beginning of June the DVLA have now revoked my driving licence, stating, I cannot meet the VF requirements.
I wasn't prepared for this, it has had immediate consequences for me personally and potentially for my employment and finances. However what I did not anticipate was the effect it has had on my mental wellbeing. I was also driving for over 48 hours not knowing my licence had been revoked before it arrived in the post.
All I have now are questions and no answers; Has my condition deteriorated? Could this not have been noticed and stabilised? Why during the VFT did Specsavers make me rest my chin between the chin rests? Why wouldn't they give me a copy of my test results? Now when I've approached them they state they have deleted them? Why during the VFT were some of the lights considerably brighter than others, different to my previous VFT?
I've requested my test results from the DVLA and they state it will take a month to get them to me.
I've also arranged to see an Optometrist, at my expense, once I have received the VFT results. I've also asked to see my consultant but not had a response as yet.
At this stage I don't know what else I can do apart from paying to see a private consultant Opthamologist?
Any advice would be appreciated.
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nstewart61
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Hi nstewart Sorry to hear you have had your licence revoked. Something is not right about the VFT you describe. The test for DVLA should have only one brightness of light; the brightest ones (10db) that you would see in a hospital test.
If you could see lights of differing brightness then it sounds like the operator may have not set the machine up correctly. I believe the printouts from the machines show the settings used, so hopefully when DVLA find your test they will see the incorrect settings. Maybe if you explain this to your Specsavers and ask them to repeat your test for free, just in case the fault is theirs, they can correct their mistake.
We were told by a rep from Specsavers on a Glaucoma UK webinar that you can ask for a copy of your results. I asked for mine and was told 'no'. I said that we had been told we could have them and, after checking with her manager, I was given a copy.
I think the people operating the machines at Specsavers misunderstand their role. You you can definitely ask for copies of your printouts, but they may not always be able to provide them, if they do not have photocopying facilities at the store. In this case you could just photograph the printouts. What they are not allowed to do is give you any form of interpretation of your test results.
Spec Savers will only repeat a Binocular Field of Vision test if requested to by the DVLA. Go to an independent optometrist, get the test done, they will tell you if it’s good enough for an appeal, the DVLA cannot refuse another test, because you have the medical evidence to support it.
Thanks, the first step is see an Optometrist and then I will know what direction to take.
I wonder about the training of the people in specsavers who seem to have grabbed a large portion of NHS contracts for sight and hearing. I recently had my sight tested at specsavers and they didn't even do a visual fields test despite knowing I had glaucoma. The operatives are just that...operatives. The optometrist i saw was a pre-reg optometrist....fine, except she didn't have anyone supervising her.
I would definitely tell specsavers you are unhappy with the way the test was carried out and request another....or pay to go to an independent opticians where the field test will no doubt be done by the optometrist.
An independent optometrist will do a Binocular Field of Vision test for around £30. It is well worth trying. I did, and the test results where good enough to request an appeal, and a retest, which I passed at a different Spec Savers. I was also given copies of my test results by the second SS. They also gave me copies of the fist test. When I failed the fist time, I was only given one test. No one told me you are allowed 3 goes at the test. During both tests I complained about having to take it with my chin and forehead on the pointed section between the the chin and head rests and was told THAT THIS WAS COMMON PRACTICE. By the way Spec Savers will do an independent Binocular Field of Vision Test for as little as £10, but I don’t know if you can use for an appeal. Good Luck with appealing. There is a lot of information on The . GOV site about making an appeal..
I am interested in the response to your post, as this is a similar story to me, though it has only happened to me this week. Specsavers wont give me the results, and I need answers. I am numb, Ny life and that of my husbands will change beyond recognition. I am angry at the level if power someone has at the DVLA without a further consultation.
They are NOT the best people to deal with. It is very interesting to read the comments of their senior managers on their Web Site, and how sympathetic they are when someone has their license revoked. Terrible People.
The past 7 days since having my licence revoked have been really difficult practically and emotionally, I'm still numb so can empathise with how you are feeling. My current employment is going to be affected and as a consequence our finances, there will be others in a far worse situation but personally this is life changing for us in so many ways, transport difficulties seem to present themselves on a daily basis, we live in a semi-rural area where public transport is expensive and unreliable. It's likely that in the coming weeks my car and our touring caravan, which we now cannot use, will be have to be sold.The dvla have stated it will be around a month before I receive a copy of my vft results and then I will see an Optometrist after which I will know if it is worth submitting an informal.
I suppose then I will have either closure that my glaucoma has progressed unchecked or I may be on a road to have my driving licence reinstated, though I anticipate given the dvla's current performance to be around 4-6 months.
As mentioned by others, the VFT at Specsavers for the DVLA should have one constant brightness, and should not differ like the one you do at the hospital.
Chin rests can be moved from left to right, so there was no reason why you should have been asked to rest your chin on the raised part of the rest at all.
Also, if at any time you feel uncomfortable during the test, you can ask it to be paused, and once comfortable, you can continue.
If you havent made the DVLA aware of how badly the test was done, you should do so now, and request for a further test to be done. It is important to tell them the branch you attended too. They will look into how the tests are done and address any issues with that branch.
We have checked directly with DVLA in the past, and they have confirmed that a person is entitled to a copy of their VFT at the time of the appointment.
Unfortunately, during the pandemic and the delay/ cancellations of appointments, some peoples glaucoma has progressed.
Hi nstewart61, Although I have NPG in both eyes, I do not have experience or knowledge of your specific conditions & treatment, however, I can empathise with you when it comes to the revocation of your driving licence & we are a similar age. I have little faith in the expertise of some of the SPECSAVER operators. I failed at my local branch, when I was given ambiguous instructions on how to do the test and no encouragement or advice, so I didn't do a third attempt. If only I had been given the opportunity to take my thick rimmed glasses off, I would not have failed, nor would I have lost my entitlement to drive minibuses (D1). By joining a FB group of others who had medical revocation issues, I noticed I was not the only customer of Specsavers at my local branch, who felt they had been treated unfairly. My advice would be to use another SPECSAVERS branch and plead with Glaucoma UK to persuade the DVLA to circulate specific instructions about the operation of the software on specific machines & whether glasses can be worn or not, etc. to both SPECSAVERS and customers. I also feel that the test should be undertaken in an appropriate environment, not a corridor or a cupboard. As we both know, the result is life changing and my mental health took a severe dip whilst I fought to regain my driving licence, which I did after 4 months with the support of my MP.Good luck.
Thanks, something just feels so wrong about this latest VFT at Specsavers compared with my previous tests. I would be very interested into what role your MP played in the return of your driving licence.
My experience was within the context of the restrictions prior to 'Living with Covid', so you may not need the assistance of your MP. I was eventually diagnosed in March 2021, a year after damage to my eyes was noted by my optometrist. Specsavers were able to offer me the first test in July 2021 and the DVLA sent me the DO NOT DRIVE letter in November 2021. The DVLA were fast - tracking truck driver licences, whilst working well below their capacity due to industrial action, unsafe Covid environment, etc. resulting in a huge backlog of paper correspondence requiring processing. NB. we could only appeal using paper documents, not electronically.In 2021, it was very challenging to make contact with the DVLA, so I was advised that once I had begun my appeal, the support of my MP would escalate my case to reduce the time of processing, which was the case. I was only without a licence for 4 months. I felt very annoyed by the incompetence of the operator at my first test, but decided to go with the system, which was difficult enough to navigate. I felt that the DVLA was such a powerful institution, I decided I did not stand a chance against SPECSAVERS & the DVLA . I contacted two solicitors to take me through the FORMAL APPEAL, but they did not get back to me.
It took me a few days to get my head around the documents from the DVLA, which I thought needed revising to make them more user - friendly. The documents are not personalised, so may not be relevant to you. I suggest you start your appeal asap and get proof that your vision is safe to drive and then you can go forwards. Hope this is helpful, don't give up. PS. I got a disability bus pass to get to work, but this was of limited use as I live in a rural county.
Thanks for this, I've arranged to see an independent Optometrist who is going to review my dvla vft and do his own as well as scans etc. He will then advise me of the results to assess if I have enough grounds for an appeal, fingers crossed.
I'm following this with interest as my husband is in a similar position, though with a different eye condition. His licence was also unexpectedly revoked in Nov 2021 due to his field of vision not being up to the required standard.
He was aware when the test was done that it was under difficult conditions because of Covid restrictions, he had to wait outside the shop in the cold for a while so when he took the test his eyes were watering and wearing a mask made his glasses steam up. However he wasn't too concerned as he'd never had a problem with previous tests and his hospital consultant has told him the previous week that his sight hadn't changed. With hindsight, he should have complained to Specsavers at the time.
It was impossible to get a follow up appointment with his consultant, and it took 2 months to obtain a very brief report stating his condition was stable, so he decided to go down the independent test route instead. He actually did this twice, once with a small independent practice, and again with a different Specsavers branch. The cost each time was around £30 and the results were similar.
He sent the test results to DVLA at the end of January and 6 months later is still waiting to hear back from them! A follow up enquiry got the usual standard response about backlogs but he has recently managed to speak to someone there who has confirmed he is on the system and in 'the Specsavers pile' but can give him no indication of when his case will be dealt with. As far as we understand, it is now up to DVLA medical department (not the hospital consultant) to look at the test results and decide whether or not he is allowed another attempt at the test.
I would suggest you do as much research into field of vision standards as you can, there is lots of information on here and also on the DVLA site, and as TrescoPaddler says, get working on your appeal as soon as possible. There are still long waiting times with DVLA medical cases. Good luck.
The reason some of the lights were brighter than the others is, unfortunately, because the duller ones are where your vision is less good and approaching lost. Specsavers are permitted to give you a printout of your results.
Hi Stewart I am following your experience closely as I am in a similar situation to you. I have been trying today to get an independent optician to redo the VFT for me, but have been told that they can't do the one that the DVLA ask for as they do not have the equipment. The optician I contacted used to do NHS referrals for this area before Specsavers got the contract. Can anyone help as to where I should ago, because the only option open to me seems to be another Specsavers
Some independent opticians have the equipment to do the test for you, you will need to ring round and ask if they can do an Estermann field of vision test. Please don't be put off having a test done privately at a different branch of Specsavers though, some are much better than others. My husband failed the DVLA test at one branch which seemed terribly disorganised, so had a test done privately at a different branch and couldn't fault the service.
Just a thought - when you go for your visual fields test, don't wear a mask. Whilst there's no evidence that wearing a mask can affect the result of the test, they can be distracting, and I'm sure you'd feel more comfortable and relaxed without one. See my earlier post above about my husband's experience.
Sympathise entirely. Specsavers did a rubbish job with my test (lad had only started that day and his total training was "Put her chin There and switch on"). I have been fighting since Jan to get my licence back and as I live rurally, alone, with pretty well no public transport it's a nightmare. However, this weekend I got another form to fill in. But, date I last saw my GP about my glaucoma? I DON'T see him. He is 10 miles away with virtually no buses. He can't take pressures. I email in my repeat prescription, it is delivered to my chosen pharmacy, they deliver. (Oh and did I mention I was super-high-shielding during Covid? Who was seeing a GP in that?) It is desperate. So upsetting. At the clinic I am reading the 2nd bottom line. The eye specialist has written in, my lawyer, my MP.... but this next decision is promised within 6 weeks. Unlike the 6 months so far. Sorry not to sound more upbeat and I really hope DVLA is going to get its act together, but it is a total scandal. I have driven over 500k miles and my record is (so far!) excellent. Of course we want the roads to be as safe as possible, but I think there are other high-risk groups they might target first. I wish you all the luck in getting through this, and everyone else in the same boat.
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