The UK Diving Medical Committee (UKDMC), has advised that there will be some minor changes to the guidance for diving medicals and returning to diving following Covid-19 infection.
Revised Medical Form
The form has been revised slightly and now includes a new question about BMI of 40 or more. This new form is available for direct download from here, and is to be used with immediate effect
One of the things that the medical committee have addressed is the mistaken view that a medical declaration covers a diver for twelve months regardless. As part of your dive preparation, you should review your medical declaration to check nothing has changed. If you now answer yes to one of the questions or anything has changed in regard to a question previously answered yes you must not dive until you have discussed this with a medical referee. Clearly there is no requirement to complete a new form each time they dive, unlike when attending a SAA regional course.
Military or HSE medical
The UKDMC have recently provided the following advice on divers who hold a military or HSE medical:
“The UK Diving Medical Committee’s view is that any diver who has been passed with no restrictions by an AMED (i.e. has an in date HSE diving medical) or a military diving physician would be fit for civilian recreational diving. This would only be valid for one year. However, they may still be required by BSAC, SSAC and SAA to complete a UKDMC self cert form on joining a club and then annually. Most, if not all, are likely to be answering no to all the questions in which case it would not be an issue. However, in the unlikely event they have answered yes to something that was known about when they had the HSE or military medical it depends how their diving organisation feels about the way the forms are completed.
If in these circumstances their diving organisation wish the UKDMC form to be reviewed by a diving medical referee the diver would be wise to include a copy of the HSE or military diving medical certificate with the form to inform the referee’s decision. It is likely the referee will charge for countersigning a UKDMC form, without seeing the diver as there is evidence of fitness on the HSE or military medical, if BSAC, SSAC and SAA still require these to be countersigned.”
The SAA’s view is that DO’s may accept any HSE or military medical without the need for the diver to complete a UKDMC medical form, conversely there is no objection to DO’s requiring the diver to complete the form. If there are any restrictions on the medical the diver must dive within these restrictions.
Take care and stay safe.
Steve Orange (ndo@saa.org.uk)
