Certification – Concessionary Travel for the Disabled
People of state pensionable age are entitled to a pass which entitles them to free travel on local buses anywhere in England. This also applies to "eligible disabled" as described in the list below, and patients are turning up with forms for the doctor to sign to prove eligibility. However, there are many other ways of doing this
- There is no obligation on GPs to sign these forms
- If you do so, you may charge a fee
The Government Department of Tran sport recommendation to Local Authorities is that GPs should not be used to verify claims and ideally the Local Authority should set up assessment centres for people seeking concessionary passes who do not have other methods of proving disability (such as receipt of invalidity benefit, ownership of a blue badge, etc)
(see sections 24- 26 of this document Department of Transport Advice to Local Authorities on Eligibility Criteria for Concessionary Travel)
Eligible Disabled Criteria listed on the government website is as follows:
- if you are blind or partially sighted
- if you are profoundly or severely deaf
- if you are without speech
- if you have a disability, or have suffered an injury, which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to walk
- if you do not have arms or have long-term loss of the use of both arms
- if you have a learning disability - a state of arrested or incomplete development of mind which includes significant impairment of intelligence and social functioning, or would, if you applied for a licence to drive a motor vehicle under Part III of the Road Traffic Act 1988, have your application refused under section 92 of the Act (physical fitness) on grounds other than persistent misuse of drugs or alcohol
