Given the current government’s penchant for policy U-turns, the publication and subsequent removal of an exhaustive list of notifiable eye conditions by the DVLA shouldn’t really come as much of a surprise.
As it happens, the decision draws a few parallels with last month’s fiscal statement and backtrack on the 45p tax rate. Neither Swansea nor Westminster saw fit to call upon independent experts to run the rule over the policy and neither wanted to apologise for the chaos that ensued.
On a more serious note, there’s a fair amount to unpack in this story. It’s astounding that the DVLA published such a list, seemingly with no communication, without consulting any optometric sector bodies. As the College of Optometrists stated, the DVLA document contained technical errors and a list of conditions so broad that it would see nearly all drivers having an eye test being required to contact the DVLA. I doubt the DVLA has the capacity to take on extra work in the current climate. It appears to have grossly underestimated the administration and work involved, not just for itself, but for practitioners.
It may not have been as bad had the list not included several ambiguous conditions such as ‘high myopia’ and ‘red eyes’ in the case of lorry driver/HGV conditions. Optician asked the DVLA how such a list of conditions was put together, but – in true governmental spirit – declined to answer the question.
As the Association of Optometrists reminded everyone during the debacle, the onus of reporting conditions to the DVLA remains with patients. Driving brings a sense of independence for many and livelihoods to others, but the psychological step of having to report an eye condition is huge. With such a comprehensive list and an apparent lack of understanding of several conditions, there was the very real possibility that patients would simply have stopped going for eye tests for fear of being diagnosed with an eye condition.
The DVLA says it will review the list of conditions with the help of the Secretary of State’s medical advisory panel. Surely it did that previously? Hopefully, it accepts the help offered by the sector.