Doctors routinely do not first obtain their patient’s informed consent to subject senior drivers to unreliable tests as is required by the Health Care Consent Act. As a consequent many have lost their drivers licence unjustly. BE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN TO TELL YOUR DOCTOR WHEN YOU WALK INTO HIS/HER OFFICE THAT YOU DO NOT CONSENT TO ANY MEMORY, ART, DEMENTIA OR OTHER TESTING…you have a right to refuse ‘treatment’ of any kind.
There seems to be a trend developing in Ontario, where seniors go for routine medicals, either from a Doctor or hospital and end up being given some form of dementia test without the doctor first having provided them with full disclosure that the test is unreliable and that this is for drivers license purposes.
Three senior drivers known to me have related the following:
The first was a woman who went to the hospital for a medical condition unrelated to her mental state. While she was there, she feels that they must have given her a dementia test without her knowledge because when released from the Hospital she was informed by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation that her licence was revoked and she would have to go for a series of tests.
This lady, unwilling to go through all the red tape and expense, voluntarily gave up her licence. This seriously affected her life at all levels.
The second, a gentleman and a professional, went to see a doctor for mild depression, when his regular doctor was away on holidays. The doctor he saw, instead of treating him for mild depression, gave him some memory questions without his knowledge or consent or being told the purpose of this testing. That doctor revoked his drivers licence.
Even after his own doctor sent the Ministry evidence to the contrary, he was forced to take a drivers test with DriveABLE, at a cost to him of $700.00. When all of the discussion and paper work was done, it was a full year before he got his licence back and according to him, the total cost was $4,700.00. Obviously if you can afford to keep up the testing, proving you are not demented after all, you will get your drivers license back.
The third gentleman went to see a doctor who wasn’t his regular practitioner for a routine medical checkup. While there, the doctor said ” We are doing a little study here, and I wonder if you would volunteer to help us out”. When he agreed — thinking he was being helpful in a medical study — the doctor gave him a totally unreliable dementia test, which led to the revoking of his drivers licence and the scheduling of a drivers test at a cost to him of $550.00. The test result is pending, but he is still without his drivers license.
(Note: from his description, this test was another flawed protocol called” the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test For Dementia”. This test is not accepted by the experts on ageism and dementia, anymore than the Simard MD Test used in Alberta is. It is interesting to know that the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test For Dementia is flawed and inaccurate as a total test, yet the Ontario Ministry uses two parts of this test — the Clock Drawing and the ‘pick out the Letter H, from among letters’ — and has the nerve to claim that this can tell them if you are qualified to drive or need medical attention.
The common denominator here seems to be that none of the above were seen by their own physician and were never told they were being given a dementia test. In fact, in one case above, the doctor was deceptive, by telling the senior he would be helping with a study. This violates the Health Care Consent Act which is legislation in place to protect the public from this sort of targeting. Check out Section 10 of the Act.
Doctors are obligated to inform the patient of any test he is about to administer and to tell the patient why. Only then can you, the patient, be fully informed and refuse as is your right.
Unfortunately, none of these seniors wish to have their names made public out of fear of reprisal by the government and until some people who have lost their licences through this practice of discrimination and deception come forward, this practice will continue and probably increase.
Ed. Rockburne, RCMP, Retired
Have you been the victim of this testing in the last 2 years? Have you lost money your drivers license or both? Contact us immediately: admin@stopelderdriverabuse.ca
If you haven’t yet been made a victim, consider contributing to the legal fund set up to ensure that no one goes without legal defense. Once the fund is built up, cases will be handled by a legal expert without cost to the senior.
Sign MPP Randy Hillier Petition here: http://www.randyhilliermpp.com/petition_seniors_testing