It has been alleged GPs took cash payment from cabbies to give a medical clearance needed to obtain a private hire licence according to an investigation. Uber and minicab companies demand a medical declaration from prospective drivers to be conducted by authorised GPs.
The GP carries out a check-up and a review of their records. But an undercover investigation has found that three London doctors signed drivers forms for cash without performing the checks. Questions on the Transport for London form asks for information like cardiovascular disease, seizures and eyesight problems or a brain injury.
The opening statement of the form says “This form should be taken to a registered medical partitioner who has access to your medical history, typically your GP, for completion. It is not completed by someone who has access to your full medical history this could lead to delays in the processing of your medical.”
According to the investigation by The Sun newspaper, Dr Ashraful Haque Mirza who works in a surgery in Morden, South London, hurriedly filled out forms and concocted results of blood and eye tests. The newspaper’s undercover reporter posing as a taxi driver told Dr Mirza, his vision “gets a bit blurry” when he was tired. The doctor allegedly replied “Right, OK. Fine…They won't give you any problems.”
An Uber spokesman said : “There should be tough action against any GP who has falsified medical certificates and any test centres found to cheat the system should be closed down.”
in 2015 TFL closed 15 test centres after was found that foreign drivers were allowed to sit exams in their own language. TFL’s chief operation officer for surface transport, Garrett Emmerson said: “We take all allegations of fraud seriously and will investigate.”
