Company Director Convicted of Fraud Over Bogus HGV Medical Tests

A judge at Swansea Crown Court sentenced company director Andrew Eburne to four years in prison on Friday after convicting him of participating in a fraudulent business that supplied invalid medical tests for HGV licence applications. Trading standards investigators found the firm, Doctors on Wheels, used unqualified staff to conduct eye tests, blood pressure checks and questionnaires inside white vans parked at lay-bys and motorway service stations.

Completed forms listed a registered doctor as the examiner even though the person who performed the assessment was different.

Three undercover officers booked appointments online in 2019 and attended separate locations in Swindon, Huddersfield and Leicester. Each received paperwork stating the staff member they met was a registered doctor, and one officer was signed off under a colleague's name without identification checks.

Covert recordings captured staff providing answers during eye-chart tests and allowing some applicants to complete parts of the forms at home. Prosecutors told the court the fraud generated £681,699 in revenue.

Rees said Eburne had placed profit ahead of safety and played a leading role in a system that compromised public safety. Two doctors whose signatures appeared on pre-printed stamps were investigated by the General Medical Council; one was struck off and the other had his registration suspended for 12 months.

Rhys Harries, who led the Swansea Trading Standards investigation, said thousands of drivers received the tests. The DVLA stopped accepting the firm's reports in June 2019 after concerns were raised. A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing is scheduled for December.