A manufacturer of devices designed to fight sleep disorders claims it can undercut NHS queues for treatment of sleep apnoea by four months, meaning hauliers can endure shorter periods without drivers. ResMed says its Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) Care Programme questions and screens drivers for the illness, and has them beginning a treatment programme within two weeks, compared with a minimum wait of 18 weeks under the NHS.
John-Paul Gore, business development manager at ResMed, says a
long waiting list can affect a haulage company's budget. "Drivers are obliged to tell the DVLA if they are suffering from OSA and have to prove they are taking treatment. Under the NHS, this could take up to 25 weeks. If a haulier has to take on replacement drivers this becomes very expensive."
The condition, which causes sufferers to stop breathing up to 30 times per hour throughout the night, increases the chances of fatigue-related driving accidents by seven times. ResMed has just completed a nine-month pilot of 140 HGV drivers from one firm, 70 of which needed individual driver screenings and of those, 25 had to undergo a diagnostic sleep study, resulting in two requiring ResMed therapy. Gore adds: "It is early days, but the interest in our service is positive. Companies are more ethically minded and realise they have to look after their drivers."
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