We provide private medical examinations for holders of private hire vehicle licences (including taxi drivers) from all round the country.

We have had a long working relationship with Cambridge City Council and with South Cambs District Council, but are happy to undertake medicals for any licensing council.

We welcome all drivers, whether you are registered with us as an NHS patient or not.  

Since we do a lot of driving examinations, our team are very familiar with the driving standards of fitness and with the application forms and processes.  That is why we are able to offer a smooth-running medical examination service and to keep our prices competitive. 

Many of our drivers have been coming to us for their medical for decades.  Whether you have used us before or not, we look forward to seeing you. 

We do our best to keep our charges as low as possible.

A fee of £80* is payable at the time you book your appointment.  Payment is taken by card over the telephone.

This fee covers the cost of one appointment with one of our doctors and a reasonable amount of associated paperwork.  

We will do our best to keep to one appointment, and hence one fee.  If we need more information or tests we will usually arrange to complete the paperwork without needing to see you in another appointment.   We will not charge another fee unless we need to see you again, or the paperwork becomes excessive.

On occasion we may need to ask you to book another appointment, in which case a further full-fee will apply.

The charges are applicable even if you do not pass the medical examination.

REFUNDS

If we need to cancel your appointment and cannot find a suitable alternative time, we will refund your payment in full.

We do not offer refunds if you arrive unprepared (see below).  If we are unable to complete the medical examination because you have not provided the information we need, you will be asked to book another appointment.  

We do not offer refunds if you fail to make the appointment time.  If you are late to the appointment we will consider it a "no show".

If you need to book another appointment, for whatever reason, a further full-fee is payable.

APPLYING TO MORE THAN ONE COUNCIL?

We are happy to complete more than one set of paperwork at one appointment.  We charge half-price for any such additional application.  

If you only tell us about this after your appointment, we reserve the right to ask you to attend for another appointment, in which case another full-fee is payable.

NEED TO CHANGE YOUR APPOINTMENT?

If you need to change your appointment, contact us as soon as possible.  We will do our best to find an alternative.  

You are able to rearrange your appointment free, up until 48hrs before the appointment time.  After that, we will charge a further full-fee.

*At the time of writing.  Prices are subject to change.

Provide a copy of your medical records 1 week before your appointment (see above).

ON THE DAY

Bring TWO forms of ID

1. With your photo (e.g. driving licence)
2. Confirming your address (e.g. utility bill)

If you are prescribed any medication by your doctor you must bring a written record of these (e.g. your last repeat prescription, or a print-off from your online prescription service), or bring the medications themselves, in their boxes and with the prescription labels.

If you wear glasses or contact lenses to drive

Bring your glasses.  Contact lense wearers need to be prepared to remove them during the appointment (bring your glasses so you can drive home). 

Bring your most recent lense prescription from your optician.  Opticians routinely give these to you when you have a sight test.  If you don't have yours, most opticians will provide them free of charge.  We usually don't need a full report, only to confirm that your lenses are lower than a certain corrective strength. 

If you have a history of a medical problem (including diabetes, heart problems, COPD) you need to provide more information on the day - see below.  The list is not exhaustive - we may ask you for more information. 

Please remember that if you do not provide us with the information we have asked for before or at the appointment, we will charge you for another appointment. 

If you are taking treatment which lowers your blood pressure, you should provide the three most recent blood pressure readings.  These will be in the copy of your GP notes (see above) which you MUST provide.

We need to confirm your current medication (see above).

Your blood pressure must be below 180/100 in your appointment with us.  If it is not we will look at your most recent readings at your own GP surgery. 

All drivers with diabetes need to be aware of the law surrounding driving with diabetes.  The DVLA website has all the details. If you have any questions about this you should etiher contact the DVLA or your own GP or practice diabetes nurse.

If you are (re)applying for a group 2 licence you have additional responsibilities.  We will need to show that you are familiar with these or we will not pass your examination.  It is not our role to be educating drivers.  

You will also need to provide extra information when you come to your medical appointment with us.  What you need to provide depends on what treatment you are on.  If you cannot work out which of these applies to you your pharmacist will be able to advise. 

Remember, if you don't provide all the information we need on the day, we will charge you for another appointment.

Most of the information we need will be in the copy of your GP notes which you MUST provide in advance (see above).  However you also need to provide:

Diabetes and on no treatment, OR

Diabetes and only on treatments which do not have a risk of hypoglycaemia (including non-insulin injectibles)

Nothing extra

Diabetes and taking tablets carrying hypoglycaemia risk, inlcuding glinides and sulphonylureas  OR

Diabetes on insulin treatment 

You must use a blood glucose meter with sufficient memory to store 3 months of readings, and bring this with you to provide evidence that you are testing according to the DVLA regulations.  If you are not aware of what these are, you will not pass your medical examination. 

Please note that continuous blood glucose montioring devices measure interstitial fluid glucose and therefore are not acceptable as the law requires blood glucose monitoring.

All drivers known to have evidence of ischaemic heart disease (also known as heart disease or coronary artery disease) need to provide evidence that they satisfy the exercise requirements of the DVLA, weather or not they have had symptoms.

This is normally an exercise tolerance test (treadmill test) but some other tests are acceptable.  The test must be less than 3 years old and satisfy various criteria.  Full details can be found here. All cardiologists are familiar with these.  

You must provide the results of the test when we see you.

These tests are often arranged by the specialist team during the initial assessment when patients are first diagnosed, but thereafter they are not normally repeated by the NHS.  

If you are not sure if you have had the right test, or it is is out of date, you should speak to your own GP who can refer you.  However please note that tests souly for the purpose of driver licensing are not covered by the NHS, so the specialist will charge you as a private patient.  It is worth shopping around as prices vary.

Group 2 drivers known to have moderate/severe obstructive sleep apnoea must provide a copy of their most recent review with the specialist clinic, which must be within the last year.