Treat sleep apnoea before people fall asleep at the wheel

doi:10.1136/bmj.b1976

Published 20 May 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b1976
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b1976

Letters

Obstructive sleep apnoea

Treat sleep apnoea before people fall asleep at the wheel

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

We are the father and uncle of Toby Tweddell, who was killedin August 2006, his car crushed from behind by a large goodsvehicle; the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel, and wassubsequently found to have sleep apnoea.¹

After the inquest into Toby’s death, the coroner reportedin August 2008 that the driver had visited his general practitionerduring April 2006 complaining of tiredness. Blood and urinesamples were taken to test for diabetes, and when the resultswere returned negative he was advised that he was most probablysuffering from stress. Critically, sleep apnoea was not diagnosed.

So, yes, obstructive sleep apnoea is easily missed by generalpractitioners,¹ with dreadful consequences.

After Toby’s inquest, the coroner took the unusual stepof issuing a Rule 43 Report to the Lord Chancellor calling fora toughening of the licensing regimen for commercial driversas it relates to obstructive . . . [Full text of this article]

Nic Tweddell, retired consulting engineer¹, Seb Schmoller, head, educational charity²

¹ Penrith, Cumbria CA10 2 NF, ² Oxford OX3 0BP

nic.tweddell@virgin.net