Diving Medical Updates
The UKDMC undertake regular reviews on medical conditions which might affect an individual’s ability to dive.
The committee have recently issued updated guidance on a number of conditions:
- Myocardial Infarction. You can access the guidance here
- Neurodiversity
This now only applies to new divers (and does not apply at all to dyspraxia or dyslexia). Those on medication still need to contact a Medical Referee as they would be answering yes to the medication question.
These new divers need to complete a Neurodiversity or Neurodivergence Declaration for New Divers form, found on the website under Downloads (there is also a link to it in the Medical Conditions section under Neurodiversity). Only those answering yes to any of the questions numbered 2 to 12 on this form need contact a Medical Referee.
There is no longer an age restriction and no longer a requirement for a report from an instructor after pool training. If the instructor is happy with the diver’s progress (as in any diver irrespective of any medical issues) they can go on to open water diving without having to get a report or contact a Medical Referee. There is no longer an age restriction and no longer a requirement for a report from an instructor after pool training. If the instructor is happy with the diver’s progress (as in any diver irrespective of any medical issues) they can go on to open water diving without having to get a report or contact a Medical Referee. You can access the guidance here - COVID
For those who have had COVID there is now no need to declare it, except in those cases that were severe enough to require admission to hospital and would then need a 3 month lay-off from diving as opposed to a year. These divers only (likely to be few) would then still need a medical and possibly detailed lung function testing. The “score sheet” attached to the UKDMC Medical Declaration form is no longer required.
Revised Medical Form
You can download the latest medical form here. This latest form, dated May 2024, no longer has the COVID score card. When completing your medical form, you should always download the form from the UKDMC website rather than reuse a version you have saved locally.
Dealing with Medical Referees
I have been made aware of medical referees receiving abuse. It goes without saying that any abuse is totally unacceptable and one of the main problems seems to be the perceived high cost of a dive medical.
In reality the cost is held at artificially low levels when you consider the high cost of setting up and ongoing costs including additional training courses and specialised insurance. When looking at what the doctor is charging consider how this compares with the hourly rate tradespeople and garages charge, I suggest we are getting very good deals.
Not every medical results in being able to continue diving, in such cases don’t blame the referee they are only ensuring that the next dive doesn’t kill you (or put your dive buddies at risk).
Finding a medical referee can be difficult in some areas. The DDRC provide a telephone screening service (https://www.ddrc.org/diving/fitness-to-dive/) where they can offer advice and guidance on how you should proceed, there is a small charge of £10 for this service.
Medical Certificates
The completion of a medical certificate is a requirement of SAA membership and where required divers must have been cleared by an approved UKDMC medical referee.
Failure to dive without a valid medical clearance would invalidate your SAA insurance and would very likely invalidate any personal insurance a diver has, as they would be diving outside of the guidelines of their diving agency.
I have no reports of members falsifying their medical certificates and I would ask that club diving officers make the following checks:
- Is the name of the medical referee one that is known to you? If not check the list of authorised medical referees on the UKDMC website. (The list of authorised medical referees does change so if the certificate was issued several months earlier and doesn’t list the name on the certificate use the contact form on the UKDMC website – https://www.ukdmc.org/contact-us/ to confirm.
- Does the certificate have a valid stamp? These will normally show the doctor’s name and contact details as a minimum.
If you, as the club’s Diving Officer, have any doubt as to the validity of a medical certificate I would strongly recommend that you contact the referee named on the certificate, who will gladly confirm if the certificate is genuine or not.
Take care and stay safe
Steve Orange (ndo@saa.org.uk)
National Diving Officer
