View from the AIO: DVLA contract should embrace all sectors

The long awaited release of the DVLA tender specification document for the next contract for the provision of eye tests has finally happened.

AIO is of the strong view that the next contract should be as inclusive as possible and not awarded to a single commercial interest. There are a number of reasons for this, and these are mainly patient and safety driven.

From a patient’s perspective why should they have to go to an optical practice where they may never have been before to have a DVLA test rather than to their tried and trusted practitioner. In addition to this, in rural areas the distances some patients have had to travel for a DVLA eye test are ridiculous. From a safety point of view, there is a strong argument that a patient’s existing practitioner is in the best place to look beyond the DVLA eye test and advise the patient on their suitability to drive.