7/27/2019 1382961533.DOC

1/3

Dear Sir/Madam,

Permitting the use of evacuated tube containers for the taking of blood specimensfrom persons accused drink or drug driving

I am writing to make you awareof proposed changes to section 15 of the Road TrafficOffenders Act 1988 (RTOA 1988) and section 34 of the Transport and Works Act 1992(TWA 1992) to permit the use of evacuated tube containers for the taking of bloodspecimens from drink or drug driving suspects. These amendments are proposed inresponse to concerns aired by stakeholders over the current requirement to use syringesto take blood specimens in this context.

As you may be aware, section 15 (5) RTOA 1988 states that:

Where, at the time a specimen of blood or urine was provided by the accused, he askedto be provided with such a specimen, evidence of the proportion of alcohol or any drugfound in the specimen is not admissible on behalf of the prosecution unless

(a) the specimen in which the alcohol or drug was found is one of two parts intowhich the specimen provided by the accused was divided at the time it wasprovided, and

(b) the other part was supplied to the accused.

Section 15 (5A) contains similar provision for specimens of blood taken from personsincapable of consenting, under section 7A of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Sections 34 (3)and 34 (3A) TWA 1992 contain the same wording to cover offences involving drink ordrugs on transport systems.

Sections 15 (5) and 15 (5A) RTOA 1988 are also referred to without modification insections 83 and 96 of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, to cover offencesinvolving drink or drugs in shipping and aviation contexts.

In practice, this requires the medical practitioner or registered healthcare professional totake the blood specimen using a syringe, and then divide the specimen between twoglass vials. This procedure is no longer common practice for other purposes where blood

Nathan JonesRoad User Licensing,Insurance & SafetyDepartment for TransportZone 3/29

Great Minster House33 Horseferry RoadLondon SW1P 4DR

Tel: 020 7944 2909

Nathan.Jones@dft.gsi.gov.uk

Web site: www.dft.gov.uk

DATE: 24 OCTOBER 2013

mailto:Nathan.Jones@dft.gsi.gov.ukhttp://www.dft.gov.uk/mailto:Nathan.Jones@dft.gsi.gov.ukhttp://www.dft.gov.uk/

7/27/2019 1382961533.DOC

2/3

is being taken, and nurses may require additional training in taking blood specimensusing a syringe.

The introduction of evacuated tube containers for the taking of blood specimens isanticipated to provide the following benefits:

Increased safety of the procedure for the medical practitioners and registered

healthcare professionals taking the specimens, due to reduced risk of needle-stick

injuries Increased ease and likelihood of extracting the required amount of blood

Reduced training requirements for the medical practitioners and registered

healthcare professionals taking the samples

Increased familiarity with the equipment for the medical practitioners and

registered healthcare professionals taking the samples

Reduced equipment procurement costs due to the common use of this equipment

in the NHS, in contrast to the more bespoke equipment needed for syringe andglass vial collection

However, the introduction of evacuated tube containers would contravene sections 15 (5)and 15 (5A) RTOA 1988 and sections 34 (3) and 34 (3A) TWA 1992, because in practicewhen using evacuated tube containers to take blood, two separate specimens would betaken from the accused as part of one continuous process. The specimen supplied to theaccused would therefore not be one of two parts into which the original specimen wasdivided, as it would be an independent specimen. Changes to section 15 RTOA 1988 andsection 34 TWA 1992 are required in order to permit the use of evacuated tube containersfor the taking of blood specimens.

The proposed changes to section 15 RTOA 1988 and section 34 TWA 1992 will continueto permit the use of existing equipment alongside evacuated tube containers for the

taking of blood specimens.

At present, we are looking to make these changes when parliamentary time allows and inthe next appropriate legislative vehicle.

Due to the fact that this is a minor procedural change with a likely impact only on thepolice and those providing healthcare services we are not intending to run a publicconsultation on this issue. Accordingly we wanted to notify you, and other directlyaffected stakeholders of the proposal before we finalise the preparatory work for thesechanges to be made. We welcome any comments and suggestions you may have, andany problems you envision with this proposed change.

Please could you provide any comments to me at the contact details above. It would behelpful to hear from you by close of play on Thursday 7 November.

I am at your disposal if you should have any further questions.

Yours sincerely,

Nathan Jones

7/27/2019 1382961533.DOC

3/3