Moneo writes: A long road for drivers

Over recent weeks my practice staff have begun to receive a new type of phone call. They are from people who, in the past, have visited my practice to have their visual fields checked for the DVLA and now find that they can no longer do so. In the first instance they are incensed that they have no freedom of choice any more to decide where to go for this test. But then their annoyance turns to downright anger when they realise that they now have to travel a round trip of over 50 miles to access what was once a local service. How we have ended up with a situation where the public is put to such a severe inconvenience is incomprehensible. Surely due diligence would have shown that the coverage for this new contract was woefully inadequate and would result in severe difficulties for hundreds if not thousands of elderly people.