Health issues - Would I Pass medical?

[Guest micky38]

Hi Gill,

 

Thanks,

Micky

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Thanks!

 

They have asked mum for MORE info, they have everything already! We have asked for more clarification as the 2nd letter is asking for the same as the first! I will let you know how she goes!

 

Ange

:rolleyes:

 

Hi Ange

 

If you are sure that DIAC's MOC is asking for exactly the same information as the first time, provided by the same sort of specialist doctor, then in your shoes I would be querying the situation as well.

 

If you need any help, please click on my user-name to the left of this post and please send me an e-mail, not a Private Message. I can give you the names, e-mail addresses and the direct dial contact numbers for a couple of the most senior DIAC staff at the Australian High Commission in the UK. Either of them are able to contact Dr Paul Douglas, who is DIAC's Chief Medical Officer. (I stress e-mail because the Poms in Oz software has been scrambled so that the PM system refuses to give the e-mail addresses for the DIAC officials unless I go to a heck of a lot of trouble in order to defeat the Poms in Oz filters! My e-mail at home comes without time-wasting complications, and an e-mail sent via the forum comes to me at home!.)

 

The Manager of the Parents Visa Centre can also contact Dr Douglas if he tries. Again, I have the direct contact details for the Manager of the PVC if you need it.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hi Gill,

 

I am 43, diagnosed with diabetes type 2 two years ago. I never needed medication , just a diet and weight loss.

Now my blood sugar is perfect. Should i even mention it?

Micky

 

Hi Micky

 

I know nothing about medical conditions. Doesn't diabetes show up as protein in urine or something?

 

As you are over 40, it seems that you do not have to leap through the hoop that is mentioned on the thread that I gave you the link to. I have no idea what that is all about, as you will have seen from the thread if you read it?

 

Apart from that, I think you should talk to your own GP because I don't know whether your "diabetes in remission" is something that you have cured yourself of and simply don't suffer from it, or quite what it is. Your GP would have far more idea than I have of what you should say on Form 26, which is here:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/26.pdf

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest angedoon]

Hi Ange

 

If you are sure that DIAC's MOC is asking for exactly the same information as the first time, provided by the same sort of specialist doctor, then in your shoes I would be querying the situation as well.

 

If you need any help, please click on my user-name to the left of this post and please send me an e-mail, not a Private Message. I can give you the names, e-mail addresses and the direct dial contact numbers for a couple of the most senior DIAC staff at the Australian High Commission in the UK. Either of them are able to contact Dr Paul Douglas, who is DIAC's Chief Medical Officer. (I stress e-mail because the Poms in Oz software has been scrambled so that the PM system refuses to give the e-mail addresses for the DIAC officials unless I go to a heck of a lot of trouble in order to defeat the Poms in Oz filters! My e-mail at home comes without time-wasting complications, and an e-mail sent via the forum comes to me at home!.)

 

The Manager of the Parents Visa Centre can also contact Dr Douglas if he tries. Again, I have the direct contact details for the Manager of the PVC if you need it.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

 

Thanks so much Gill!

 

I will wait and see what the Health Operation Centre say when they email back this week, but it certainly seems very odd that this is going on for so long, is it that they are incapable of making a decision or is it that they want to be without reproach if something should go wrong with mum's health in the next five years?? Why didn't they ask for everything with the first letter? It's as though they don't expect eldery visa applicants, who lets face it are paying in excess of $34,000 plus $10,000 assurance of support to have any health problems whatsever, nevermind diabetes which is the fastest growing diease in the western world!

Where is the personal face of the visa process, it's beyond cruel what they are doing to us and plenty of others out there!

Thanks for the vent!

Ange

:mad:

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Thanks so much Gill!

 

I will wait and see what the Health Operation Centre say when they email back this week, but it certainly seems very odd that this is going on for so long, is it that they are incapable of making a decision or is it that they want to be without reproach if something should go wrong with mum's health in the next five years?? Why didn't they ask for everything with the first letter? It's as though they don't expect eldery visa applicants, who lets face it are paying in excess of $34,000 plus $10,000 assurance of support to have any health problems whatsever, nevermind diabetes which is the fastest growing diease in the western world!

Where is the personal face of the visa process, it's beyond cruel what they are doing to us and plenty of others out there!

Thanks for the vent!

Ange

:mad:

 

Hi Ange

 

Why didn't they ask for everything with the first letter?

Are they asking for Mum to see a different type of specialist from the first time around?

 

Also, Dr Douglas is red hot on the idea that the Panel Doctor refers the visa applicant to Specialist Bloggs (chosen by the Panel Doctor) and Specialist Bloggs sends his/her report direct to the Panel Doctor, who sends it to the MOC.

 

Dr Douglas is dreaming about this and needs to be thumped into wakefulness because most of the Panel Doctors in the UK are bone firkin idle. Most of them work for the NHS in the UK and only do part-time Panel Doctoring. Most of them leave it to the visa applicant to do the lion's share of the work in finding Specialist Bloggs in the first place and the applicant's own, NHS, GP often finds Specialist Bloggs and refers the visa applicant to them to save time and hassle. Specialist Bloggs usually hangs out somewhere reasonably close to the visa applicant etc.

 

The Panel Doctors are not going to go to the trouble of finding a suitable specialist who is reasonably close to wherever the visa applicant lives. Dr Douglas doesn't care if the visa applicant has to make unnecessary journeys up and down the UK.

 

He wants the UK system to be a clone of the system used in Oz as far as I can gather. He has taken pruning shears to the list of Panel Doctors in the UK with zero thought for the fact that you cannot fly around the UK by air as easily as you can in Oz, petrol is more expensive than in Oz, public transport is hopeless in the UK and it is often wet, windy and cold in the UK, unlike in Oz.

 

In Oz, people go to Medibank - that is compulsory:

 

Who we are - Medibank Health Solutions, Corporate Health, Injury Treatment, Injury Prevention, Flu Shots, Pre employment medicals. Health Assesment

 

This lot do quite a bit for the Ozzie Government and they don't do anything that the website does not mention. So they are not ordinary doctors, which the PDs in the UK nearly all are. Also, the Medibank doctors are paid a salary for working full time for Medibank and nothing else. PDs in the UK just make a bit of extra money on the side out of doing very little because they can see at a glance that most visa applicants do not have anything serious wrong with them.

 

I gather that if a Medibank doctor says, "You have diabetes" then you get sent to a diabetes expert chosen by the Medibank doctor, who makes the referral etc. However the Medibank doctor has actually clapped eyes on the visa applicant and the Medibank doctors make their own decisions about whether somebody meets the Health requirement or not. Dr Douglas is actually extremely vague about how the Medibank doctors work, considering that Dr Douglas is the only CMO that DIAC have.

 

http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/mig/disability/hearings.htm

 

Dr Douglas attended the Inquiry on Feb 24th and March 17th. Every word he said is in Hansard. I think it was 17th March when he told the Inquiry vaguely that he did vaguely think that the Medibank doctors do vaguely consult one another if there is a query about whether or not a particular visa applicant meets the Health criteria.

 

Plus everyone is shooting at Dr Douglas in the Inquiry, criticising DIAC's maladminstration of the Health requirement in every possible way. The Inquiry is by no means the easy ride that DIAC thought it would be because whilst DIAC only want one thing (which is that the Health Waiver should be extended to skilled visas and DIAC officers would decide whether or not to use it) everybody else has persuaded the Chairman of the Inquiry that the whole system needs a root and branch sort out, with DIAC potentially being chucked out of the room altogether as far as the Health requirement for migration is concerned.

 

DIAC admit that they are not medics. Quite right. So why are they interfering and why do they want to increase their own power to interfere, instead of backing right off? Lots of doctors work for DoHA so why aren't they dealing with the Health requirement for migration instead of DIAC?

 

In 2007, the Australian National Audit Office dropped into DIAC for a look at the maladminstration of the Health requirement for migration - and ripped it to shreds.

 

DIAC are also still smarting over the fact that the Dr Moeller case attracted so much flak for DIAC in Oz etc. The "remedy" suggested by DIAC now would not actually solve a Dr Moeller problem. If a medic wants to migrate to Oz from the UK on a sc 175 visa but the medic has a child who has Down Syndrome quite severely (which was the case with Dr Moeller's child) the chances are that the British medic will be rejected as well because DIAC are unlikely to exercise the Health Waiver that they say they want - they are likely to reject the British medic on the grounds of cost. Very belatedly, DIAC accept that the cost element should be increased from $21,000 to $100,000 but that will not solve any problems if the child with DS might end up on Disability Support Allowance all his life - the costs would certainly exceed $100K and would probably exceed $1 million AUD.

 

Historically, DIAC have been mauled whenever the Health requirement for migration has been mentioned. This occasion is merely the latest example.

 

According to Dr Douglas, they would be giving your mother every possible chance before making a decision. Are they, or are they looking for every possible way to refuse her without the risk of the Migration Review Tribunal reversing their decision? We only have Dr Douglas' word for it that he and the MOC team are super-generous. These days the public wants documentary proof of every word claimed by a civil servant, not vague assurances by Dr Douglas.

 

He told the Inquiry that the MOC's activities are now audited, sort-of. I asked since when? January 2010 according to Dr Douglas. So these audit arrangements haven't actually been running for long, then? Errrrrmmmmm - well, they do work very well! How does anyone know that after less than six months?

 

I think there are loads of people gunning for Dr Douglas - I'm only a flea biting minnow. There are some very serious players in the Inquiry in Oz, including the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, who have joined the throng in saying that the Health requirement itself is rubbish and that the way the MOC end of it works is rubbish as well. Since they are doctors, nobody will ignore what they say.

 

So I think that a whole mass of things are going on and that a LOT of visa applicants are caught up in it, with some really perverse decisions being made by the MOC in really too many cases.

 

Please let me know what the HOC say. Sometimes the MOC does back off when he is challenged.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest micky38]

Hi Gill,

 

thanks for the info, I went to my GP and he sees no problems!

 

micky

[Guest aakand]

Hi good people,

 

I appied for Skilled Migration to Australia (sub class 175-offshore) in Novemebr 2009. I was told to go for our medical test. I have only 1 kid who is 2 years six month old and she has a health condition of cerebral palsy.

 

After the first report, MOC asked for another report and it was sent to MOC again. After 1 week I receiver opinion from MOC that my kid is not meeting health requirement. MOC describe her as a hypothetical person.

 

Case officer asked for additional information again and termed it as Natuarl Justice. I have already sent this additional infromation. I also applied for health waiver and case officer told me that waiver is not applicable for GSM.

 

What is the next step? What should I do?

What should I do if MOC again give the same opinion?

Is there anybody to advise me?

 

Please note that I do not have any agent.

[MikenSueNW3]

G'day all

 

I'm posting this query on the Parent Visa thread as well. We are in the waiting list for 173 temporary CPVs, intending to immediately upgrade to 143 (permanent) if and when the 173s are granted

 

We've probably got about a year to go before we get a CO, but I'm wondering: Has anyone had experience of going through the meds process having had surgery for (early-stage / non-aggressive) prostate cancer? I'd be interested to hear what the Doc's and, if applicable, the MOC's attitude was; what tests, details of history, etc were asked for; and any other potentially useful tips.

 

I intend to get as full a report as possible from my urologist and/or oncologist, but info on any personal experiences (I mean of the bureaucratic, not medical, kind, of course!) of other PV applicants would be very welcome.

 

It is probably best to reply to this by Private Message.

 

Many thanks, Mike

[vandeep]

hi did u pass your medical stacy

[vandeep]

did u get your mdeical pass as i am going through same

[vandeep]

rudy wats rong with u , did u get your medical done

[Philleigh]

Hi everyone,

 

Was hoping that since the last posting somebody may have had access to the New Guidance Notes for the MOC. Primarily the notes on Opthamology.

 

I have a corneal dystrophy - where the cornea becomes opaque. I have had 3 corneal transplants over the past 10 years. 2 to my right eye, 9 years apart.

Apart from the procedure and subsequant monthly check up's post op [roughly 1x p/m for 6-12 months] I do not need any treatment/medication outside of this time frame.

 

My partner and I are looking at applying for a visa through my partner later this year. He has the opportunity to get a visa based on 'distinguished sports talent'. I would go as his de-facto partner. My biggest concern is that the MOC would reject our application based on my eye condition.

 

Besides my eye condition we are both very fit and well. I am a Cardiac Physiologist and my partner is an athlete / coach / journalist.

 

I would be gratefull for any information regarding the new changes, and if anyone has been able to actually access the new notes!

 

Kind Regards,

Philleigh

[MikenSueNW3]

Hi everyone,

 

Was hoping that since the last posting somebody may have had access to the New Guidance Notes for the MOC. Primarily the notes on Opthamology.

 

I have a corneal dystrophy - where the cornea becomes opaque. I have had 3 corneal transplants over the past 10 years. 2 to my right eye, 9 years apart.

Apart from the procedure and subsequant monthly check up's post op [roughly 1x p/m for 6-12 months] I do not need any treatment/medication outside of this time frame.

 

My partner and I are looking at applying for a visa through my partner later this year. He has the opportunity to get a visa based on 'distinguished sports talent'. I would go as his de-facto partner. My biggest concern is that the MOC would reject our application based on my eye condition.

 

Besides my eye condition we are both very fit and well. I am a Cardiac Physiologist and my partner is an athlete / coach / journalist.

 

I would be gratefull for any information regarding the new changes, and if anyone has been able to actually access the new notes!

 

Kind Regards,

Philleigh

 

Hey, G'Day!

 

I'm afraid I can't help directly with your query, but I had some very good advice (re oncology in my case) from Gill Palmer, who used to post here under the monicker "Gollywobbler". I don't feel I should give you her email address without her permission, but I will email her myself and quote your post, and she may get back to you privately. (Or you could try sending her a Private Message via this forum. Or look for her on Poms in Adelaide, where I believe she is still active.)

 

One of her most valuable pieces of advice was on who to visit for our medicals – someone who had previously been a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (of Australia, that is), and really knew the system rather than being a "box-ticker". Never mind that it involved travelling from London to Edinburgh!

 

Gill is in fact a lawyer in Southampton, but was invoved in a long (eventually successful) battle to get her mother a Parent Visa to join her other daughter in Adelaide.

 

Good luck.

 

Mike

 

PS: I was, incidentally successful in passing the meds in spite of having only three years free of the prostate cancer against the guidelines suggesting five. Sue and I now have our 173 parent visas and are in the process of upgrading to (permanent) 143s.

[Philleigh]

Hey, G'Day!

 

I'm afraid I can't help directly with your query, but I had some very good advice (re oncology in my case) from Gill Palmer, who used to post here under the monicker "Gollywobbler". I don't feel I should give you her email address without her permission, but I will email her myself and quote your post, and she may get back to you privately. (Or you could try sending her a Private Message via this forum. Or look for her on Poms in Adelaide, where I believe she is still active.)

 

One of her most valuable pieces of advice was on who to visit for our medicals – someone who had previously been a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (of Australia, that is), and really knew the system rather than being a "box-ticker". Never mind that it involved travelling from London to Edinburgh!

 

Gill is in fact a lawyer in Southampton, but was invoved in a long (eventually successful) battle to get her mother a Parent Visa to join her other daughter in Adelaide.

 

Good luck.

 

Mike

 

PS: I was, incidentally successful in passing the meds in spite of having only three years free of the prostate cancer against the guidelines suggesting five. Sue and I now have our 173 parent visas and are in the process of upgrading to (permanent) 143s.

 

Hi Mike,

 

Thanks for that, it sounds positive all the same. I will look into it further and try PM Gollywobbler. Good luck with your move down under!

 

Leigh

[Guest westwoodc]

Ive read a few posts about medicals for Australia. We are having ours on Friday for a 190 visa application, my husband is the main applicant. I had breast cancer in 2011, am completely clear now, have no pending treatment or medication etc.

 

I found a Professor who specialises in the type of BC I had and he has provided a medical report for me to take to the medicals in Manchester, he says what I had, how I was treated and what my prognosis is for the future, which he states as maximum 15% chance of secondary, and very probably less than 10%, And as for BC coming back more or less 0% as I opted for a double mastectomy and immediate recon.

 

I would be grateful for any thoughts or knowledge you may have on this.

 

thank you

 

Claire

[amits71]

Hi,

 

I have recieved the instruction to get medical test for my wife and myself under skilled category migration to Australia. My wife has undergone kidney transplant couple of years ago and now she is fine. Can anyone tell me would this be a bottleneck in clearing the medical test.

 

Amits71

[Guest westwoodc]

Hi,

 

I have recieved the instruction to get medical test for my wife and myself under skilled category migration to Australia. My wife has undergone kidney transplant couple of years ago and now she is fine. Can anyone tell me would this be a bottleneck in clearing the medical test.

 

Amits71

 

Hi, the Dr's who performed our medical, said anything within the last 5 years, so for us, it was my breast cancer which is just 2 years now. We had to take a report to the medical saying what I had, how it was treated and what my prognosis was for the future, hope this helps.

[Red Hot Chili Pipers]

Hi

 

Just wondered does the doctor performing the medical have contact with your GP for your medical records? I have a sliding hernia which i dont need treatment for anymore, may it show up on the x ray?

Is it best to just mention it just incase its still an issue?

 

Thanks

[Peach]

Hi

 

Just wondered does the doctor performing the medical have contact with your GP for your medical records? I have a sliding hernia which i dont need treatment for anymore, may it show up on the x ray?

Is it best to just mention it just incase its still an issue?

 

Thanks

 

If I remember I think you sign over the right to allow the panel doctor to contact your GP and discuss your medical records. But ordinarily there would be no contact. It is always better to be upfront and declare, than face having to explain why you didn't.

[Guest westwoodc]

Hi

 

Just wondered does the doctor performing the medical have contact with your GP for your medical records? I have a sliding hernia which i dont need treatment for anymore, may it show up on the x ray?

Is it best to just mention it just incase its still an issue?

 

Thanks

Hi, no they have no access, they only see what you take them so if you think its something they will see when they perform their medical (in your underwear) then it might be worth taking something from your Drs to confirm its not an issue. They did tell us its within a 5 year period that they are looking for. Hope this helps.

[Red Hot Chili Pipers]

Thanks

 

Nothing can be seen on my body, just not sure if it will show up on the x ray if its still there. As it no longer bothers me since loosing weight and changing my diet.

I will mention it anyway.

 

Thanks

[Rupert]

Hi, no they have no access, they only see what you take them so if you think its something they will see when they perform their medical (in your underwear) then it might be worth taking something from your Drs to confirm its not an issue. They did tell us its within a 5 year period that they are looking for. Hope this helps.

 

They do have access because you give them access as part of the form filling in. Whether they take up the opportunity is another matter. It is best to declare, it does not sound like anything likely to cause an issue, whereas concealing information could.