Swansea Council-led investigation finds medical company guilty

Andrew Eburne, 51 of Hill Rise, Burbage, Hinkley, is set to be sentenced in June at Swansea Crown Court, after recently being found guilty of operating a fraudulent business - Doctors on Wheels Ltd.

The successful prosecution against Mr Eburne following a years-long investigation by Swansea Council Trading Standards who took on the case following concerns raised by the DVLA.

Doctors on Wheels Ltd was used by existing HGV licence holders, as well as those applying for a HGV licence, to complete a D4 medical certificate as part of the HGV licence application process required by the DVLA. The D4 determines that the applicant is medically safe to operate heavy goods vehicles.

The medical exams were carried out in mobile units, located around the UK. A case was made against Mr Eburne along with five other defendants who worked for Doctors on Wheels Ltd. All five were found not guilty during the same proceedings.

Investigations by Trading Standards, which included officers presenting themselves as HGV licence applicants, uncovered major concerns over the signing off of the D4 certificate by unqualified individuals who were working for Doctors on Wheels.

The company is thought to have processed thousands of D4 medical certificates which were then used as part of the HGV application.

Although Mr Eburne pleaded guilty to the charges, he was found guilty by a jury and will now return to Swansea in June for sentencing.

Rhys Harries, Swansea Council Trading Standards Team Leader, said: "We're pleased with the outcome of the case.

"This has been a very long investigation which required a lot of time and effort by our own Trading Standards officers, as well as staff at the DVLA.

"When the DVLA raised their concerns about the company, we needed to look in depth at their operation and establish if medical certificates were being issued by unqualified staff.

"We were able to show in court that D4 medical certificates were submitted to the DVLA with the intention of them being issued as part of a HGV licence application.

"Fortunately, due to the expertise shown by the DVLA in spotting these anomalies, along with our own investigation, we prevented this becoming a much more serious issue."

Photo by Jose Carbajal on Unsplash