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Dizziness, driving, and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: audit of advice given to patients, and design of a patient information leaflet

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 August 2019

J D Sinnott ,
H Mahoney ,
A S Wilkinson  and
S J Broomfield
J D Sinnott*
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, UK
H Mahoney
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Bristol Medical School, UK
A S Wilkinson
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, University of Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, UK
S J Broomfield
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, University of Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, UK
*
Author for correspondence: Mr Joseph D Sinnott, 39c Chandos Road, Redland, Bristol BS6 6PQ, UK E-mail: j.d.sinnott@gmail.com
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Abstract

Background

Evidence from the literature shows that clinicians’ knowledge of rules and legislation surrounding driving can often be poor. A closed-loop audit was conducted to gauge the level of driving advice given to patients with dizziness.

Methods

The clinical notes of 100 patients referred to the vertigo clinic at a tertiary referral centre were retrospectively searched for evidence of driving advice. Education sessions were undertaken and a patient information leaflet was developed before a second cycle of the audit.

Results and conclusion

The proportion of patients having documented evidence of receiving driving advice increased from 6.3 per cent to 10.4 per cent. It is therefore clear that, despite this improvement, a significant proportion of patients’ notes did not contain documentation about driving. This is likely because of many reasons, including individual interpretation by clinicians. This paper provides a reminder of the rules, and discusses their interpretation and implementation in an increasingly medicolegal environment.

Keywords

OtologyDizzinessVertigoAutomobile Driving
Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 133 , Issue 9 , September 2019 , pp. 822 - 824
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited, 2019 

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Footnotes

Mr J Sinnott takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper

References

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