This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-33802543

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Glasgow bin lorry crash: Driver 'reassured' GP after previous blackout Glasgow bin lorry crash: Driver Harry Clarke suspended by council
(about 2 hours later)
A GP who examined the Glasgow bin lorry crash driver after a previous blackout was unaware it happened at the wheel of a bus, an inquiry has heard. The driver who blacked out behind the wheel of the bin lorry when it crashed in Glasgow in December has been suspended by his employer.
Dr John Langan saw Harry Clarke twice after the incident in 2010, which happened while he worked for First Bus. Glasgow City Council confirmed Harry Clarke had been suspended following evidence at the ongoing inquiry into the tragedy, which killed six people.
Mr Clarke had previously told Dr Langan's colleague he had fainted in a canteen during hot weather. The inquiry has heard Mr Clarke had a history of blacking out which he failed to disclose.
Dr Langan told the inquiry he had been "reassured" by Mr Clarke about the discrepancies. In a statement, the council said the move was on a "precautionary basis".
A bin lorry driven by Mr Clarke went out of control in central Glasgow in December 2014, killing six pedestrians. A spokesman said: "The council can confirm that it has suspended Mr Harry Clarke on a precautionary basis pending a full disciplinary investigation.
A fatal accident inquiry into the tragedy is being held at Glasgow Sheriff Court. "A number of allegations have been made during the enquiry in regard to Mr Clarke's conduct before and at the point where he commenced employment with the council.
Dr Langan told the inquiry he saw Mr Clarke on 13 April 2010, six days after the earlier blackout, and again on 22 April. "These allegations have yet to be put to Mr Clarke and he has not yet had the opportunity of responding to them. The internal investigation will therefore take place at the conclusion of the fatal accident inquiry".
In between the consultations, his surgery received a letter from a doctor at First Bus saying Mr Clarke had suffered a "vasovagal attack" on a "stationary bus". The fatal accident inquiry (FAI) at Glasgow Sheriff Court has heard evidence that Mr Clarke fainted while working as a driver for First Bus in 2010.
The GP said he was "sure" he had questioned Mr Clarke about the discrepancy in his accounts of the incident. Doctors were then said to have been given differing accounts of where the incident happened, with one being told it was on a bus and another that it had been in a canteen on a hot day.
He pointed out that the First Bus letter did not say Mr Clarke had been at the wheel of the bus at the time. Dr John Langan, of Baillieston Health Centre in Glasgow, told the inquiry he had examined Mr Clarke after he fainted in April 2010.
Medical history The GP's medical records indicated Mr Clarke fainted "at work, in canteen, hot environment, no warning signs".
He later wrote to First Bus diagnosing the blackout as a "simple" faint which did not require Mr Clarke to give up driving. However, two letters from First's medical officer Dr Kenneth Lyons indicated that Mr Clarke fainted on a stationary bus.
Dr Langan said he would have looked at Mr Clarke's medical history over the past five years before making his diagnosis. DVLA guidelines to GPs state that people who have fainted may be fit to return to the wheel if there was provocational factors, such as a hot environment, prodromal features such as light headedness, and if a faint "is unlikely to occur while sitting or lying".
He said "nothing jumped out at me at the time" to merit diagnosing a more serious condition.
He said he had no knowledge of the patient having suffered a vasovagal attack in 1989 and previous episodes of dizziness would not have been recorded in the computer records.
The Crown Office has concluded that there will be no criminal prosecution over the crash, with senior lawyers deeming it a "tragic accident".
Erin McQuade, 18, her grandparents Jack Sweeney, 68, and his 69-year-old wife Lorraine, all from Dumbarton, died in the incident in the city's Queen Street and George Square.
Stephenie Tait, 29, and Jacqueline Morton, 51, both from Glasgow, and Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh, were also killed when the truck mounted the pavement before crashing into the side of the Millennium Hotel.
A further 15 people were injured.