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146 Documentation of official driving guidance after a stroke or transient ischaemic attack; a quality improvement project
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  1. Sophie Bondje,
  2. Camilla Barnes,
  3. Vivekka Nagendran
  1. East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, UK

Abstract

Aim To carry out a quality improvement project of the documentation of official driving guidance after a stroke or transient ischaemic attack. Driving advice after conditions such as stroke is a topic often overlooked during medical training. Our project aims for junior doctors to be better informed of their legal responsibility to inform patients of their driving restrictions and obligations, to improve patient safety and remove any ambiguity of patients driving status.

Methods The discharge letters of 60 patients with a diagnosis of stroke/TIA during June 2020 were collected, and documented driving advice (as per NICE guidelines) was assessed, along with obligation to inform the DVLA. After collecting the first loop of data we focused on creating awareness of the issue to all members of staff working on the acute stroke ward by distributed a poster outlining key requirements for documentation on discharge letters and giving a brief presentation to juniors on the stroke ward.

Results In total, 73% of patients were given no or incorrect advice regarding driving post-stroke. 98% of patients were given no or incorrect advice regarding need to inform the DVLA.

Conclusion Driving too soon post stroke can be dangerous not only to the driver, but to other road-side users. Many patients are unaware of the NICE guidelines, so it is up to the physician to lead the discussion around government advice. Additional documentation of this advice keeps the patient’s GP aware of their driving status, and provides a reminder for the patient themselves. We aim to educate other healthcare professionals on the importance of this, so that patients and the public alike are kept safe.

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