Alzheimer and driving

[missblossomhill]

Hi everyone
My mum has been diagnosed with alzheimers and at the appointment the consultant advised we have to inform the DVLA. I have completed the forms but unsure how this affects the car insurance. It's currently due for renewal at the end of this month, I have logged in to the online account and there is no option to add the diagnosis. She is on the policy as an additional driver. There is just a list of specifications and a tick box, on of these being "i confirm all medical conditions have been reported to DVLA".
But what happens in-between the DVLA making a decision/investigation, is she technically not covered as the diagnosis hasn't been added to the insurance? I don't know whether to try and remove her from the current as well as the renewal or what?
Do the DVLA contact the insurance company? Do they advise us to do that? Does anyone know how long the DVLA will take to come back to us?
Sorry if this is all a bit muddled and thank you for staying with me to the end xx

Would she for an on-road driving assessment? I work in a dementia clinic and a lot of people say that their recently diagnosed family member is perfectly OK to drive but the on road assessment tells a very different story.
Some people in the early stages of dementia are still capable of driving especially if they score highly on visuospatial but its something that really needs a proper assessment.

Again, this is not correct.

A dementia diagnosis must be divulged to DVLA who will look at evidence and make a decision.

Dementia is a progressive disease and no two people are affected in the same way. Receiving a diagnosis does not mean someone "caught" dementia that day and is no longer safe. It will often have been developing for years, all while a person is driving.

Some people are diagnosed at a very early stage and others very late. It's partly luck (how long the assessment waiting lists are in the area, and having support to notice symptoms and get a diagnosis).

It also depends on how dementia is affecting that individual, and which parts of the brain are affected more.

If a person in an early stage of dementia is prematurely prevented from driving and loses their independence, it may hasten the progression of the disease. Removing car keys unnecessarily would actually be abuse and a crime.

That's why the decision needs to be made by consultants and professional assessors.

This!!!
this with bells on

My dad even though he didn't have dementia had memory problems caused post brain surgery and radiotherapy for a benign pituitary adenoma. Despite me and my sisters urging him to give up driving he ended up getting in his car, driving miles out into the countryside and crashing into a wall on the opposite side of the road. He was very lucky he didn't kill someone. My mum used to give him lifts but never took his car keys away. My sister was nearly killed when an 84 year old man drove straight through a red light into the drivers door of her car. He died a few weeks later from cancer so shouldn't have been on the road at all due to meds he was on. So I'm very much of the opinion that people with dementia and on medication that states you shouldn't drive while on it should not continue driving.