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"Driving ability assessment"

About: Mental Health Services for Older People – Community (County) / Mansfield & Ashfield Community Mental Health Team (CMHT)

(as a service user),

I had a chat with a person from Nottinghamshire Healthcare Mental Health Services for Older People, they weren't a doctor, but came around and did a survey on my ability to drive a car. Now, I have received a letter here, and I have three little issues with it.

Part 1: on the summary formulation, the staff member reported that I had gotten lost and taken 3 hours to drive home from the Community hospital, when it should have taken 40 minutes. This is not true, and it makes me appear much worse than I am. I told them, in conversation, about an appointment I attended at the hospital, in an area I am unfamiliar with - I drove to the hospital fine, had the appointment fine, but just after I left the hospital I missed a turning - completely understandable. It took me an extra 10-15 minutes longer than it should have to get home, meaning that the whole visit took 3 hours, including travelling both ways and the appointment itself. a 15 minute missed turning is not the same things as getting lost for 3 hours. 

Part 2: This staff member advised that I shouldn't drive, and that I should contact the DVLA and let them know of the situation. The letter I got back from the DVLA said usually people can drive until they get the relevant details from the health service and then get back to me. I have yet to hear from them a month later. So I have these two organisations, one telling me I can drive, one telling me I can't.

Part 3: In the care plan details, it says I am to be put on 5mg of a new medicine, increased up to 10mg as the effects are observed. This is a sort of medicine that you don't swallow, it sort of dissolves in your mouth in the most awful tasting way. When this same staff member first gave it to me, I told them I can't handle this medicine, its too much for me, and they agreed to recommend me an alternative tablet that I can swallow. The notes in this letter don't reflect this at all.

There you have it. Not everything is 100% correct. The service has tried to say things that scare me, "we dont want you to have an accident and hurt someone". I've been driving for 60 years and not had any issues yet. I only drive small distances now, to the shops or maybe to take the dogs to the park for a walk. If it is true that it is unsafe for me to drive, then I will stop driving, but I don't think I should have to give up this freedom for a faulty assessment, with mistakes, based on incorrect information.  

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Responses

Response from Bev Bennett, Community Service Manager, Mental Health Services for Older People, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS trust 3 years ago
Bev Bennett
Community Service Manager, Mental Health Services for Older People,
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS trust
Submitted on 23/03/2021 at 13:26
Published on Care Opinion at 16:32


Thank you very much for taking the time to give feedback on your experience of Older Adult's Mental Health Services. We are sorry that your experience has not been to the standard we would expect for our service users and that this has caused you some distress.

I would be happy to discuss your feedback further so that we can learn from your experience to improve our service in the future.

We are unsure, at present, which specific service visited you so I am happy to be your point of contact to discuss this issue. Please feel free to contact me on 01623 403278 and I will ensure that your concerns are directed to the correct team.

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