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By rachelandrew
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1551328
Hello

has anyone else had an issue due to past medical info being incomplete in their GP records?

I'm a PPL student, just for fun no intention to make flying part of a career, so I need a Class 2 certificate. I declared at my medical the fact that 20 years ago, after having my daughter I had a diagnosis of post natal depression. To be perfectly honest what I really had was a sudden shock to the system of being 22 and having a baby with no family around me, no money and life generally being rather tough. However there was a PND diagnosis. I was given medication, it made me feel so awful I went back to (I think) the GP and said I'm not taking this. The end result being that I found my feet as a new mother and said child has recently graduated college. By the time she was 3 I was employed in a new career. I've run a business since 2001 and am about as resilient and healthy a person mentally and physically as you are likely to meet.

So I didn't expect this to be an issue. It seems that it is. The AME requested records from the GP, eventually they produced them saying that I've not had medication since etc. That I have no symptoms of depression. The AME however still isn't happy. I'm not sure why, but she wants the original report from the hospital that prescribed the meds, so I called them and they were completely baffled. They don't know if they even have the data it being from almost 20 years ago, and the best they could do is give me a form to do a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act. Having some knowledge of applying for information this way they need to respond within 40 days but if they don't have the info, I'm not really sure what can be done.

Has anyone else had this issue and managed to get it resolved? Seems like this is all going to turn out rather expensive whatever happens!

Rachel
Last edited by rachelandrew on Mon Aug 07, 2017 3:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By rachelandrew
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1551332
Yes, I found those and don't see anything in them that should be an issue based on what I've provided. That's why I'm a bit confused as to this requirement to try and find - potentially non-existent at this point - records and wondered if anyone had some relevant experience of similar.
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By rachelandrew
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#1551378
I could do, but there really shouldn't be any issue in passing this medical according to the CAA site. This was a blip 20 years ago linked to having a baby, not something I'm entertaining the thought of doing again having just finished paying for her education. The PDF about depression on the CAA site says this,

"Class 2 pilots who have completed therapy will not usually need to be seen by a CAA specialist advisor in psychiatry"

Which sounds like any issue I had 20 years ago wouldn't be a problem anyway. I think the issue must be that there is no evidence of me being signed off any treatment plan. However there is also no evidence of this being an ongoing issue, through 20 years of records (eg. a repeat prescription etc.) and literally the issue was I felt a bit glum, certainly nothing more scary than that.

Based on the PDF, I assume there is a route to be seen by a CAA specialist advisor in psychiatry? If no-one can locate enough information to tick this box. Other than the likely expense I wouldn't have an issue in doing so if it helps me prove a negative. Presumably once I have this all sorted it won't be constantly coming up every time I need to renew.
#1551383
...and sad to say the lesson taken from this by readers who are healthy but have 'things' in their past is....

If you have something suspect from long long ago which has been forgotten about by all and whose records to confirm or deny what might have happened have equally long since been lost - then say nowt about owt otherwise known as keep quiet and carry on.

Equally the other sad lesson is that if you (might) have something wrong with you that could affect your flying medical- under no circumstances go and see your local doctor with it - now where have we seen that scenario before - ah yes the Germanwings crash.

This sort of drivel happens in insurance matters as well - if you don't have a test for condition X you cannot declare it because well you have not been tested - if you have the test then you have to declare the results and you may be turned down based on the results - the lesson which I knew from a long time ago - when offered a test for anything at all always turn it down as indeed I recently did when the NHS invited me to have a screening proceedure.

For the LAPL you still have to fill in Med form 160 with the same data so the AME is going to ask the same questions so you are no better off.
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By cockney steve
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1551407
Surely, if there are no records, the condition did not exist in yourself You were probably a bit tired and mentally overloaded with a new baby and must have got mixed up thinking of another new mum at the mother-and-baby club.

I'm sure your GP can confirm you have not consulted your surgery, or local hospital on this matter,during the last 20 years.
2 years ago, I went to the GP with a chest-infection........GP laughed and said "you're a new patient "...."well, I was in 1975 !"......"ah, well you haven't been here for so long, you've dropped off the system"

A couple of weeks ago, new GP, same group-practice..... "How long have you lived here?" " 1975"....... "Hmmm........Don't visit the doctor much, do you? "

Looks like my past medical history is just a dream. 8)
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By rachelandrew
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1551422
The issue is that the condition is mentioned once - but not the closing of the case as it were.

So it is mentioned in my notes (the fact I was seen for PND) but not what the ultimate resolution was. So I think that the issue is that I could still be suspected to have PND some 20 years later, despite all appearances to the contrary, due to not having documentary evidence. That's a guess on my part, but given I've provided everything I've been asked for so far, which has checked out with my recollection of the events to the AME at the initial medical, it seems the likely issue.

What I was hoping to find out was what options I have to prove I'm not suffering from any form of depression now, assuming that more information on this can't be found? I can't be the first person to have incomplete records for one reason or another?

Anyhow, I hope this doesn't encourage people to omit stuff from their medical. It's a hassle to be sure, but I'd rather be in a position of having declared it all and been through the process of sorting it all out than feel I'd got through by lying about it. It would be nice though if the process were a little clearer so no-one would feel it easier just to keep quiet.
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By Irv Lee
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1551790
Reminds me of an air cadet, so keen, so determined to make military flight crew, then when the time came to apply, she found the GP had put "asthma" down for a single visit about a spell of "chestiness " when she was about nine, probably a bug going round at the time. Never had problems before or since, but ambition shot down in flames.
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By Flyin'Dutch'
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1551795
Irv Lee wrote:Reminds me of an air cadet, so keen, so determined to make military flight crew, then when the time came to apply, she found the GP had put "asthma" down for a single visit about a spell of "chestiness " when she was about nine, probably a bug going round at the time. Never had problems before or since, but ambition shot down in flames.


I don't know when that was and I also have no idea what the RAF required then from aircrew applicants.

But in my experience both from dealing with civil and military applicants is that a single line in medical notes is rarely cause for rejection.

Further information may be required as may further evaluations and tests but dismissing applicants out of hand is not customary.
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By Dave W
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1552158
We had this on a couple of occasions with candidates for the flight test engineer course at ETPS. They went to Cranwell for the initial aircrew medical, and (quite rightly, in most ways) they were treated exactly as a candidate straight out of core mil aircrew selection would be.

The difference was that the pool of qualified applicants was much smaller, and on a couple of occasions that I can remember it did cause a significant issue for both the individual and the organisation.