logo
DVLA £1,000 driving fine risk over 209 medical conditions

DVLA £1,000 driving fine risk over 209 medical conditions

Daily Mirror2 days ago

The DVLA tells motorists there are multiple conditions they may need to declare to avoid the risk of breaking the rules
UK drivers are being cautioned that they must inform officials about medical conditions that could affect their driving. The DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) warns that failure to disclose one of 209 conditions could result in a fine of up to £1,000.
The DVLA suggests that if you have one of the listed conditions, you might even consider voluntarily surrendering your licence. This might be an option for those who have been advised by their doctor to refrain from driving for three months or more.
You might also consider this if your medical condition compromises your ability to drive safely for a period of three months or longer. Or you might need to do this if your medical condition means you do not meet the necessary standards for driving.
If you decide to take this step, the DVLA says: "You'll need to tell DVLA and send them your licence. If you have a medical condition that affects your driving and do not voluntarily give up your licence, you must inform DVLA. They will decide if you can continue holding a driving licence."
Medical conditions you may need to declare to the DVLA - full list
The list of 209 conditions here applies to those with a car. If you have a bus, lorry or coach licence, "you cannot use the online service to check for your condition or report it to DVLA", they add.
Check the guidance on seizures and epilepsy Check the guidance on acoustic neuroma Check the guidance on Addison's disease Check the guidance on agoraphobia Check the guidance on alcohol problems Check the guidance on Alzheimers disease Check the guidance on transient ischaemic attacks and mini-strokes Check the guidance on amputations Check the guidance on motor neuron disease - also known as ALS Check the guidance on angina Check the guidance on heart attacks and angioplasty Check the guidance on ankylosing spondylitis Check the guidance on eating disorders

Check the guidance on anxiety Check the guidance on aortic aneurysms Check the guidance on arachnoid cysts

Check the guidance on arrhythmias Check the guidance on defibrillators Check the guidance on arteriovenous malformations

Check the guidance on arthritis Check the guidance on autistic spectrum condition, including asperger syndrome Check the guidance on ataxia, including Friedrich's ataxia

Check the guidance on ADHD Check the guidance on autistic spectrum condition, including asperger syndrome
B
Check the guidance on balloon angioplasties in the leg

Check the guidance on bipolar disorder - previously known as manic depression Check the guidance on blackouts and fainting Check the guidance on eye conditions

Check the guidance on blood clots Check the guidance on blood pressure Check the guidance on brachial plexus injuries

Check the guidance on brain abscesses, cysts or encephalitis Check the guidance on brain aneurysms Check the guidance on angiomas

Check the guidance on brain haemorrhages Check the guidance on traumatic brain injuries Check the guidance on brain tumours

Check the guidance on broken limbs Check the guidance on Brugada syndrome Check the guidance on burr hole surgery

C
Check the guidance on surgery Check the guidance on cancer (not including leukaemia) Check the guidance on eye conditions

Check the guidance on catheter ablations Check the guidance on cardiac problems Check the guidance on carotid artery stenosis

Check the guidance on cataplexy Check the guidance on cavernomas Check the guidance on central venous thrombosis

Check the guidance on cerebral palsy Check the guidance on Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease Check the guidance on Chiari malformation

Check the guidance on chronic aortic dissection Check the guidance on cognitive problems Check the guidance on congenital heart disease

Check the guidance on fits, convulsions and seizures Check the guidance on coronary artery bypass or disease Check the guidance on heart attacks and angioplasty

Check the guidance on eye conditions Check the guidance on cystic fibrosis

D
Check the guidance on deafness Check the guidance on defibrillators Check the guidance on deja vu

Check the guidance on dementia Check the guidance on depression Check the guidance on diabetes

Check the guidance on dilated cardiomyopathy Check the guidance on eye conditions Check the guidance on dizziness (including vertigo)

Check the guidance on drug misuse
E
Check the guidance on eating disorders Check the guidance on brain empyemas

Check the guidance on seizures and epilepsy Check the guidance on essential tremors Check the guidance on eye conditions

F
Check the guidance on blackouts and fainting Check the guidance on fits, convulsions and seizures Check the guidance on head injuries

Check the guidance on ataxia, including Friedrich's ataxia
G
Check the guidance on eye conditions Check the guidance on global amnesia

Check the guidance on seizures and epilepsy Check the guidance on Guillain Barré syndrome
H
Check the guidance on head injuries

Check the guidance on heart attacks and angioplasty Check the guidance on arrhythmias Check the guidance on heart failure

Check the guidance on heart murmurs Check the guidance on heart palpitations

Check the guidance on high blood pressure Check the guidance on HIV Check the guidance on Hodgkin's lymphoma

Check the guidance on Huntington's disease Check the guidance on hydrocephalus Check the guidance on high blood pressure

Check the guidance on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy Check the guidance on hypoglycaemia Check the guidance on hypoxic brain damage

Check the guidance on surgery
I
Check the guidance on defibrillators Check the guidance on intracerebral haemorrhages

Check the guidance on ischaemic heart disease
K
Check the guidance on kidney dialysis (also known as renal dialysis Check the guidance on kidney problems

Check the guidance on Korsakoff's syndrome
L
Check the guidance on labyrinthitis Check the guidance on learning difficulties

Check the guidance on left bundle branch blocks Check the guidance on leukaemia Check the guidance on Lewy body dementia

Check the guidance on limb disability Check the guidance on Long QT syndrome Check the guidance on monocular vision

Check the guidance on hypoglycaemia Check the guidance on lumboperitoneal shunts Check the guidance on lung cancer

Check the guidance on lymphoma
M
Check the guidance on eye conditions Check the guidance on brain tumours

Check the guidance on malignant melanoma Check the guidance on bipolar disorder - previously known as manic depression Check the guidance on Marfan's syndrome

Check the guidance on medulloblastomas Check the guidance on severe memory problems Check the guidance on meningioma

Check the guidance on transient ischaemic attacks and mini-strokes Check the guidance on monocular vision Check the guidance on motor neurone disease

Check the guidance on multiple sclerosis Check the guidance on muscular dystrophy Check the guidance on myasthenia gravis

Check the guidance on heart attacks and angioplasty Check the guidance on myoclonus
N
Check the guidance on narcolepsy

Check the guidance on eye conditions Check the guidance on excessive sleepiness

Check the guidance on eye conditions
P
Check the guidance on pacemakers

Check the guidance on heart palpitations Check the guidance on paranoia Check the guidance on paranoia

Check the guidance on paraplegia Check the guidance on Parkinson's disease Check the guidance on peripheral arterial disease

Check the guidance on peripheral neuropathy Check the guidance on personality disorders Check the guidance on seizures and epilepsy

Check the guidance on pituitary tumours Check the guidance on PTSD Check the guidance on psychosis

Check the guidance on psychotic depression Check the guidance on pulmonary arterial hypertension
R
Check the guidance on kidney dialysis (also known as renal dialysis

Check the guidance on transient ischaemic attacks and mini-strokes Check the guidance on eye conditions Check the guidance on eye conditions

S
Check the guidance on schizo-affective disorders Check the guidance on schizophrenia Check the guidance on scotoma

Check the guidance on fits, convulsions and seizures Check the guidance on severe communication disorders Check the guidance on severe depression

Check the guidance on monocular vision Check the guidance on excessive sleepiness Check the guidance on excessive sleepiness

Check the guidance on spinal problems Check the guidance on strokes Check the guidance on subarachnoid haemorrhages

Check the guidance on surgery Check the guidance on blackouts and fainting
T
Check the guidance on tachycardia

Check the guidance on seizures and epilepsy Check the guidance on seizures and epilepsy Check the guidance on Tourette's syndrome

Check the guidance on global amnesia Check the guidance on transient ischaemic attacks and mini-strokes Check the guidance on eye conditions

U
V
Check the guidance on heart valve disease or replacement valves Check the guidance on defibrillators

Check the guidance on dizziness (including vertigo) Check the guidance on monocular vision Check the guidance on eye conditions Check the guidance on eye conditions
W
Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The near-2.5m Brits with ADHD are not making it up: Calling it a scam is a disgrace
The near-2.5m Brits with ADHD are not making it up: Calling it a scam is a disgrace

The Independent

time8 hours ago

  • The Independent

The near-2.5m Brits with ADHD are not making it up: Calling it a scam is a disgrace

New NHS England data has estimated that almost 2.5m people in England are likely to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Some degree of salt-pinching is needed here as figures were developed using pre-existing estimates from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), which suggests that around three to four per cent of adults and five per cent of children and young people have ADHD. The new data also suggests that more than half a million people (549,000) in England were waiting for an ADHD assessment at the end of March 2025. This is up from 416,000 a year earlier at the end of March 2024, so we can probably expect further ' villain of the week ' headlines about how the 'worried well' are wasting NHS resources and how 'everyone wants a diagnosis' these days. In March, a study by the University of Huddersfield and Aston University showed that ADHD prescriptions had risen 18 per cent year on year since the pandemic which led to headlines of a 'scam' around ADHD diagnosis, and the usual sympathetic calls for people not to be so pathetic and to Just Get On With It. This is despite there being a 50 per cent rise in prescriptions between 2007 and 2012 – coincidentally, around the time the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence released its new guidelines on ADHD. Awareness and understanding usually lead to an increase in treatment. The response is the same as that around the rise in treatment for depression in the 2010s when the likes of Stephen Fry were jeered at for speaking up. ' We're all a little bit [insert name of condition here],' is often rolled out, to which I am always tempted to reply, stop being childish about stuff you can't be bothered to learn about like an adult. This applies to reading beyond the headlines, to our dear orange friend in the White House, and it certainly applies to health conditions. We all go to the loo, but if you're going to the loo 100 times a day, there's a problem. This response makes me especially cross as the same day that study was released, I had been speaking to recipients of PIP – personal independence payments – about the government's benefits reforms, which include a slightly mystifying determination to Get Everyone Back Into Work (I have yet to hear a genuine explanation of what can be done for people who cannot work) and freezing PIP. These payments are not related to work but are used to help offset the additional costs of being disabled. They also have a zero per cent fraud rate. A young powerchair user, also an Oxford finalist, described a cognitive dissonance: 'They can't conceive of somebody that they deem to be productive in society – getting a degree or working – also doing something they deem to be unproductive – requiring support and benefits.' This seems to be what happens here. Without physical 'evidence', some people think they are making it up, or that people with difficult health conditions should only be living saints in hospital beds, rather than people getting on with their lives in our communities. People with ADHD differ in whether they consider it a disability, usually because how much it impacts their lives depends on the structures they already have in place. Part of the huge rise in people seeking assessment since the pandemic is that the lockdowns instantly removed people's coping mechanisms. Middle-aged adults are also often assessed when their children go through assessment and every question sets off alarms for themselves. When people say, 'There wasn't all this in my day,' the answer is usually: there was, but it wasn't considered 'nice' – so people didn't admit to it. ADHD has been described in medical literature since the 1700s. As recently as the 1950s, autism in children was blamed on mothers being 'cold and distant'. People were named unmentionable words or kept apart from society. (We cannot feel too lofty about our progress here. A 2024 investigation by Mencap and ITV found that the NHS was spending over half a billion pounds a year locking up 2,000 autistic people or with a learning disability in England – many of whom should have been in community care.) I compare the rise in ADHD diagnoses with the stats around left-handed people, which averaged around 3 per cent in the 1900s – and rose sharply from the 1910s and stabilising in the 1960s – coincidentally, around the time that left-handed children stopped having their hands tied behind their back. Discrimination against any vulnerable community stems from fear: 'I don't want this near me because I know how society treats them.' Well, what if this were you, or your family? As The National columnist Paul Kavanagh told me this week: 'The disabled are the only minority group that anybody can become a part of at any time.' Kavanagh was perfectly fit and healthy until he suffered a stroke in October 2020. Due to ambulance shortages from Covid, he suffered life-changing injuries which have left him with limited mobility, unable to use one arm, and with multiple lifelong conditions. He was still turned down for PIP at first, and when he rang to appeal, he was given the veiled threat that his appeal risked him losing his benefits. Peer support through social media can help but it has limits, which is why people are waiting for up to 10 years for an assessment. That said, I 'self-diagnosed' with hip problems and went to my GP, which led to my hip replacement. Nobody said a word about that. Nobody says anything about going to your GP if you're worried about a lump, quite rightly. We know people with cancer. We know people with depression. You probably know someone with a lot more going on too. And for anyone doubtfully saying, 'There's no smoke without fire.' There is if there's someone with a socking great gas canister going, 'Look over there!' Our society distrusts difference. We have long stigmatised differences as a sign of the Devil or God, rather than old Barbara down the street who likes a good cheese. It's only by providing support, by advocating, explaining, and bringing these stories into people's homes, as Strictly Come Dancing does every year and Heidi Thomas with Down syndrome actors in Call the Midwife – even as Princess Diana did with Aids patients and landmine victims in the 1990s – that we see others as people and stop being afraid. Afraid of them, and our own shortcomings.

Doctors suspicious about rocketing number of British athletes ‘with ADHD'
Doctors suspicious about rocketing number of British athletes ‘with ADHD'

Telegraph

time12 hours ago

  • Telegraph

Doctors suspicious about rocketing number of British athletes ‘with ADHD'

There has been a sharp rise in athletes in Britain using ADHD drugs while competing, amid fears the medication could be abused to enhance performance. Data obtained by Telegraph Sport shows there has been a more-than threefold increase in just five years in the number of therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) granted at national level for athletes diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. There has also been a more-than fourfold rise in the number of TUE applications during the same period (2019-24). The data comes from a Freedom of Information request to UK Anti-Doping, made amid concerns that TUEs for ADHD drugs may have become too easy to obtain. Medication such as ritalin has long been linked with so-called 'brain doping', most notoriously by students sitting exams. But studies show ADHD drugs also boost athletic performance and they are banned in competition by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Concerns of misuse within sport are focused on the adult diagnosis of a disorder that is normally identified in childhood – at an age where there is no prospect of the TUE system being abused – and that does not necessarily require medication to treat. Ukad told Telegraph Sport it was unable to provide a breakdown of how many TUEs for ADHD it had granted to athletes who had first been diagnosed as adults. That raises questions about whether it is adequately monitoring any trends that may warrant further investigation, particularly given the sharp increase in the total number of those using ADHD drugs while competing. The data provided by Ukad showed that the number of TUEs it granted for ADHD rose from 19 in 2019 (from 24 applications) to 63 last year (from 106 applications). Some of those may have been from repeat applications. Football had the largest number of applications granted during that period, which climbed from just two in 2019 to 16 last year. Rugby union, cricket and rugby league were the next most prevalent sports. Telegraph Sport submitted its Freedom Of Information request after one doctor, who has worked in some of those four sports, raised concerns about potential ADHD medication misuse. Responding to the findings, the doctor– who spoke under the condition of anonymity – said: 'You'd have to question sometimes whether these diagnoses are true or whether these are diagnoses which help facilitate somebody having something, a medication, which enhances performance. 'ADHD is what I'd describe as a 'soft' diagnosis. It's a diagnosis which is in the opinion of a so-called expert. And there is no one speciality which is equipped to diagnose somebody with ADHD. 'The huge performance advantage, from a physical and from a mental point of view, of taking ADHD medication would either give your team a boost or individually raise you to a higher level that you might not have been able to reach without it. 'And whilst the majority of people who work in sport are scrupulous, there are some people who are not scrupulous – whether that be doctors, physios or agents involved in the management of players. 'If you've got a player who is struggling performance-wise and you get 10 per cent of their cut, it doesn't take a genius to go, 'Well, it could be that he has ADHD'.' Another doctor, who has worked both for Premier League football clubs and at international level, said TUEs in sport for ADHD had 'gone through the roof' and that it was 'easy' to obtain a diagnosis. In the required medical assessment for the condition, an ADHD specialist such as a psychiatrist would ask a subject about their history of symptoms, particularly if they started in childhood, as well as assessing how work and interpersonal relationships are affected, and their medical history. Yet, suggesting the condition was 'probably' being over-diagnosed when the opposite had occurred historically, the second medic added: 'The problem is, of course, that it's all relatively subjective and, therefore, it's difficult to say to someone, 'I disagree. I don't think you've got ADHD'.' John Brewer, a former Ukad board member and science and medicine expert, said: 'If I was still the science and medicine expert on the Ukad board, as a non-executive director, I would certainly be probing the executive team to try to get us some information or an explanation behind that type of increase in ADHD applications if that had been brought to the board.' He added of ADHD: 'It's a little bit like asthma. Because if you ask me to fail an exercise-induced asthma test, I could do that very easily, even though I don't have asthma. Because I know what to do and it's dead straightforward to do it. 'It doesn't take a lot, dare I say it, to work out what people are looking for when they are conducting subjective assessments, in order to get that prescription.' Suspicion falls on 'rogue doctors' Michele Verroken, a veteran in th e war on drugs in sport who ran anti-doping at UK Sport before Ukad was formed, said any investigation should look for 'rogue doctors' who may be behind multiple applications. 'Anti-doping organisations should be looking at any clusters, any population increases,' she said. 'They should be looking for potential patterns of abuse, because that helps all anti-doping organisations understand if they've got over-emphasis by certain medical people in the way that they're treating and supporting performance training, and whether they're medicalising the whole approach to what's going on.' Dr Oliver Runswick, a senior lecturer in performance psychology at King's College London, has carried out research into the impact of exercise on those with ADHD. He said being physically active was 'an incredibly good symptom-management tool' and suggested athletes actually could be 'better at managing' their symptoms than non-athletes. Dr Runswick, who has also worked in sport, said he would expect those with ADHD 'severe' enough to require a TUE to be struggling with 'day-to-day' living. He added: 'You'd have to be outlining some pretty severe symptoms, which would make it almost impossible for you to be a professional athlete.' The sharp rise of athletes in Britain using ADHD drugs is in stark contrast to the trend in the United States, another country in which diagnosis of developmental disorders in the general population has been on the increase. Data obtained from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) showed a decrease in the number of TUEs it has granted for the condition over the same period (2019-24). One sports organisation that publishes its TUE data for ADHD is Major League Baseball, a move triggered by the performance-enhancing drugs scandal that engulfed it in the early 2000s. This transparency has coincided with a major fall in the number of TUEs granted, which almost halved between 2014 and last year. A Ukad spokesperson said: 'ADHD is a debilitating disorder that can have a profound effect on the way an individual functions, regardless of whether they were diagnosed with the disorder in childhood or as an adult. 'Our primary concern is to ensure that only athletes properly diagnosed with ADHD are granted a therapeutic use exemption. Whilst there is the possibility that athletes could attempt to misuse the TUE system, we have put in place the following measures to safeguard against this risk: Our ADHD TUE policy sets out the type of clinician who we accept ADHD assessments from, and the medical evidence required to support TUE requests, which is in line with UK best-practice guidelines regarding the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. We have highly experienced psychiatrists on our TUE committee who are involved in the review of all ADHD TUE applications submitted to Ukad. The TUE committee also has the option to request a second opinion in instances whereby a diagnosis is ambiguous. 'Whilst the increases observed in the FOI data appear significant, the prevalence of athletes being treated for ADHD with stimulant medication in 2023 was 0.41 per cent of the UK national TUE pool. This is lower than the estimated prevalence of ADHD in adults, which is three to four per cent in the UK. The prevalence rate of 0.11 per cent of UK national TUE pool athletes being treated for ADHD with stimulant medication in 2021 is also lower than the 0.27 per cent of Olympians at the Tokyo Olympic Games being in receipt of a TUE for ADHD. 'Ultimately, the UK TUE prevalence data on ADHD is not out of place with national population and global athlete statistics [in a way that would] suggest that the increase in ADHD TUE approvals in recent years is down to athletes misusing the system.' Ukad also said the proportion of athletes it granted ADHD TUEs was in line with data indicating around 11 per cent of people with the disorder in England received medication for the condition.

ITV reality star reveals life-changing health diagnosis aged 46, saying ‘I feel numb'
ITV reality star reveals life-changing health diagnosis aged 46, saying ‘I feel numb'

The Sun

timea day ago

  • The Sun

ITV reality star reveals life-changing health diagnosis aged 46, saying ‘I feel numb'

REALITY TV star Natalie Russell has opened up about her recent life-changing diagnosis. The star of the ITV series, My Mum, Your Dad revealed she had been diagnosed with ADHD, saying she was "feeling numb" after hearing the news. 3 3 Short for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD is a disorder that affects peoples ability to regulate their attention, energy levels and impulse control. As Natalie pointed out in her Instagram video revealing her diagnosis, there has been increasing numbers of cases being picked up in adulthood. The 45-year-old said getting the diagnosis "brought up a lot of things, and it's made a lot of things make sense." "There's that kind of relief and self-understanding that comes with it, and then there's also probably some grief there of knowing that had I had that understanding earlier on in life... might have changed the course of things for me," Natalie said. "There's so many things that I'm now looking back at and going, 'oh, that explains it'." Natalie spoke on experiencing emotional dysregulation and rejection sensitivity disorder which are common symptoms of ADHD. "It's interesting times [for me], and I think I've definitely felt my symptoms more because of my perimenopause... it's become so much more apparent, and I've found that quite frustrating," she said. "Although I knew I had a lot of the symptoms, I think just hearing someone else confirm it [has helped]." Natalie added: "I think the fundamental part of it is like self-acceptance. and compassion for yourself. "That's so key, because I'm having to extend a lot of grace to myself." Natalie's followers thanked her for her honesty and reacted to the video in the comments section of her post. "It's a complex thing to process so definitely give yourself the time you need - lots of mixed emotions, and I'm sure the waves will rise and fall as you come to terms with them," wrote one person. Another added: "Absolutely love you, you always speak from the heart." And a third commented: "Thankyou for sharing. I can relate to every word." The 9 signs of ADHD in adults ADHD has long been associated with naughty schoolkids who cannot sit still in class. And that is part of it. Fidgeting, daydreaming and getting easily distracted are all symptoms of the behavioural condition, which is why it is often spotted in children. However, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is far more complex than simply having trouble focusing. Henry Shelford, CEO and co-founder of ADHD UK, says: 'If it isn't debilitating, it isn't ADHD.' In recent years, social media has given rise to trends which conflate specific personality traits or single behaviours with ADHD. You might be thinking, 'I'm always losing my keys, forgetting birthdays and I can never concentrate at work — I must have ADHD'. But it's not as simple as that. Though these may all point to the condition, Dr Elena Touroni, a consultant psychologist and co-founder of The Chelsea Psychology Clinic, says: 'The key distinction lies in how much a behaviour impacts a person's daily life. 'Genuine ADHD symptoms affect multiple areas of life - work, relationships and emotional wellbeing - whereas personality traits are typically context-dependent and less disruptive.' ADHD UK's Henry, who has the condition himself, adds: 'Having ADHD is hard. One in ten men with ADHD and one in four women with ADHD will at some point try to take their own lives.' So how can ADHD manifest in someone's life? While hyperactivity is a common indicator, here are nine other subtle signs: Time blindness - losing track of time, underestimating how long tasks will take, regularly being late or excessively early Lack of organisation - a messy home, frequently misplacing items, forgetting deadlines Hyperfocus - becoming deeply engrossed in activities for hours Procrastination - feeling overwhelmed by to-do lists and struggling to determine what needs your attention first so focusing on less important tasks Heightened emotions - emotional struggles can manifest in angry outbursts, feeling flooded with joy or shutting down because you feel too much at once Being a 'yes man' - agreeing to new projects at work or dinner dates with friends when you're already busy (a desire to please) Impatience - interrupting people mid-conversation, finding it painful to stand in a queue, being overly chatty Restlessness - tapping, pacing, fidgeting or feeling restless on the inside Easily distracted - by external things, like noises, or internal things like thoughts Natalie, who is a self-esteem and relationship recovery coach appeared on My Mum, Your Dad. She was partnered up with Paul Edwards, 47, in the hit ITV show - but it wasn't meant to be as they split soon after filming was over.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store