Guest Gollywobbler Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Gill I contacted a centre that has the e health sign next to its name on the list and they said that they are no longer doing medicals after Friday.The only one I could find in my "area" was the one at Heathrow. JOHN Hi John You live in Colchester. Heathrow is the other side of London. The two are not "local" to each other, for a start. The total Trappism from DIAC means that I was only taking a guess at why they are suddenly interfering with a system which has worked well for several years. DIAC are their own worst enemy with their fiendish wish to be as secretive as possible at all times, frankly. I think we will just have to wait and see what David Wilden's explanation for the latest (expensive, no doubt) nonsense is about. Cheers Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr luvpants Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Hi John You live in Colchester. Heathrow is the other side of London. The two are not "local" to each other, for a start. That's the point I was making :wink: That is the nearest one to me. JOHN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balman Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Hello Everyone We had our medicals last week at one of the Harley street clinics. Both the centres on Harley street will no longer be able to conduct medicals. The Kingston medical centre and the Thornton Heath Medical Centre can also no longer conduct medicals. The Dr who did our medicals was very disappointed with the Ozzies and said they gave them no reason for stopping there services (He has been a panel doc for over 18 years). He also said that he has written numerous letters to the Department and so have the Doctors collectively....... but again no response. He mentioned raising the issue with the BMA(British Med Association). Cheers Balman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 The other thing that springs to mind, is that the medicals vary in cost hugely, by reducing the number it also takes away our ability to shop around. I live an equal distance from both Bath and Bristol, Baths were nearly twice the price of Bristols.:mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waitingawhile Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 The way all these changes are being brought in really unsettles me- if I was an overly cynical person I would think they are preparing for a a much smaller migrant program without telling us in advance of the changes, perhaps they wont need as many panel Dr s in future -or my hope is that they are just trying to force the issue in terms of the type of service they want ( I prefer this one obviously) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevenson Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Hi Stevenson Are you sure that you have the names of the Scottish cities the right way around? According to the Panel Doctor's list, Dr Helen Bryden in Glasgow can do e-Health medicals. I shouldn't think she will give up Panel Doctoring easily because she used to be a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth in the UK before DIAC centralised the function in Sydney and from what I can gather from her website, Dr Bryden isn't an ordinary NHS GP at all? Cheers Gill Hi Gill, I called Glasgow today after seeing this post as I want to do my medicals soon, and the staff there say they are P***ed off about been taken off the list and said the only one in Scotland will be Edinburgh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ozcans Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 mmmm what about panel doctors outside the EU at the end of one of the budget airline routes???? Prague? Bet it's cheaper!!!! And a few days off!!!:idea: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmylife Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 The other thing that springs to mind, is that the medicals vary in cost hugely, by reducing the number it also takes away our ability to shop around.I live an equal distance from both Bath and Bristol, Baths were nearly twice the price of Bristols.:mad: This is my main concern too, lack of competition will allow them to charge whatever they like... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Well looks like we will have to travel all the way to London to re do ours and god knows how much they are going to charge, bet we shall have to shell out another grand!:arghh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest andy crawley Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 been told today Nottingham is off list for meds Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rachbarlow Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 DIAC are their own worst enemy with their fiendish wish to be as secretive as possible at all times, frankly. This worries me. Initially for me it was the TRA, now the DIAC have been for my liking introducing too many changes, and yes they have been very secretive about them. That is what I don't like. This does seem to be a way of reducing the processing of applications, despite the demands of the states!! If people think they have to go through a nightmare process which is practically impossible, I guarentee MOST won't both wasting their time nor money. Less competition = to me higher prices, also longer waiting lists. Please can someone adivce me I asked in an earlier post does a CO give you a certain time to obtain your meds? This change could pose a huge problem if so!! I said in another post this was probably dreamed up at the DIAC Christmas dooo over a Christmas eggnog and mince pie. Is this really a country I want to go to? Come on Mr Wilden, give us a break and help us out here please!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Magnetic6 Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 We got a CO on the 21st Dec and she gave us 28 days to get our Meds and PCC's done. Not very long in view of the fact it fell over the xmas and new year hols. I've read some people are given 70 days and i don't know how they decide on the different timeframe. We've emailed her receipts of meds etc as it's unlikey the information will be with her on time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluster13 Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Hi. We had the same news yesterday when we called to book our medicals(this is the last thing we need to do For our 457 after waiting 12 months to get my wires nursing reg in NSW) we now have to go to Birmingham ( not too much further for us) again we were told that this is because they want people to take thier x-rays at the same place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Natty T Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 This is not fair at all, we have all paid out a lot of money along the way either for vetassess, agents, visas and other hidden extras that pop up. Now they are starting with medicals. If they are cutting down on migrants then they should put a hold on it now, process the visas people have paid out for then open it again. I'm starting to get that awful feeling we have thrown our money away on something we wont get. I know i'm sounding negative but we have children too and its starting to feel like they are being messed about too. :arghh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 If this is indeed true - and I have no reason to believe it isn't - the move betrays a lack of competence or joined up thinking within certain circles in the Department of Immigration. Didn't someone once make a comment about individuals in the public sector being promoted beyond their level of competence? No offence intended ... Or the Australian Government is throwing every impediment possible at the visa application process in an effort to reduce numbers because it simply can't cope with the demand. The migration process is fast becoming a war of attrition with the spoils to those who can endure and who have the deepest pockets. Onwards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Lombard Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 On the dramatic changes to medical processing in the UK, there are glass half full aspects as well. Personally I would regard it as a good thing if you can imagine the benefits of eHealth processing bypassing doctor's dollybirds sending documents to the wrong address, a standardised and therefore predictable approach to common conditions, and in particular the removal of certain practitioners known for playing God with a capital G when it came to reporting on conditions positively and negatively. The geographic parameters of the new list are consistent with panel doctor lists in other countries - even in Australia the offices of Health Services Australia aren't as close to each other as the old UK panel doctor list doctors. Cheers, George Lombard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Understood - and fair points, George. Maybe the pre-requisite for UK panel doctors will be an ability/willingness to partake in the e-health process ...? It would be nice to be appraised formally though, don't you think? Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Hi Alan & George First I think we need to find out for sure what is going on in the UK. We only have my word for it that e-Health has anything to do with this, plus I was only guessing about that anyway, plus the witnesses say that some of the UK clinics which are marked "e-Health" are the very places to be being closed down. If so, that seems to knock my e-Health theory on the head. I think that Step One is to wait for David Wilden to tell us exactly what is happening and why. Then we will at least know the cause of this latest nonsense. Whatever the real cause is, the roads in the Capital are probably ice free because it is warmer there because of all the heated buildings and London can't function without ice-free streets, pavements etc. The Aussies from DIAC who work in Australia House - right in the middle of London - probably all live in London Central or London Suburbia, plus they are Aussies. They not only don't know the rest of the UK, they also have no idea of trying to drive round it at this time of year - when the Met Office (UK equivalent of the BOM) says "don't travel unless absolutely necessary." How "necessary" is it to risk the life of the whole family - in a car without the Snow Tyres that are required by law in Scandinavia but are not required in the UK - for the sake of a frolicsome visit to an Aussie Panel Doctor many miles away? Even if the would-be migrants' cars had the necessary snow & ice arrangements, the rest of the vehicles on the UK roads do not have them and no local law requires that they should. Only people from a hot climate could arrange anything as daft as a major change in the UK just at the moment when the UK is practically in the grip of another Ice Age if you listen to the UK Government, which the Aussie Govt are bound to do. The Aussies are not used to wall to wall snow and neither was I until recently. The geographic parameters of the new list are consistent with panel doctor lists in other countries - even in Australia the offices of Health Services Australia aren't as close to each other as the old UK panel doctor list doctors. You are not comparing like with like, George, and nor are your fellow Aussies. The motorways in the UK are pathetic compared to the autobahns in Germany or the toll motorways in France but the roads here in the UK carry FAR more traffic than in France, Germany or Australia because the UK land mass is tiny but the population is huge and only masochists or regular commuters use public transport instead because that is (a) so unreliable and (b) so expensive as well. It is no use comparing the Panel Doctors in Algeria with the ones in the UK - different problems migrating, different populations doing so etc. Now - with the Met Office claiming that the Big Freeze miight last until March - is simply NOT a good time to risk people's lives in the UK and since the Panel Doctors are all doctors first and foremost, they would be the first to say it to their deaf medical colleagues in Australia - but I doubt that Australia is even listening because it is Summer out there. Personally I would regard it as a good thing if you can imagine the benefits of eHealth processing bypassing doctor's dollybirds sending documents to the wrong address, Do doctors in Oz have dollybirds? In the UK they have middle aged Dragons, lol! a standardised and therefore predictable approach to common conditions, There is no evidence whatsoever that this will be so, hon. DIAC will not start telling the truth about the meds until the law forces them to do so, I suspect. At least 80 of the 90 submissions so far insist on this and it is very unlikely that all the submittors are wrong when you consider who they are: http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/mig/disability/subs.htm If this is indeed true - and I have no reason to believe it isn't - the move betrays a lack of competence or joined up thinking within certain circles in the Department of Immigration. I completely agree with Alan, especially if the Met Office are right about prolonged bad weather in the UK. Or the Australian Government is throwing every impediment possible at the visa application process in an effort to reduce numbers because it simply can't cope with the demand. Dunno because the DIAC PR machine has been Trappistly silent - as it always has been lately - which is not good enough from a supposedly publicly accountable organisation. The migration process is fast becoming a war of attrition with the spoils to those who can endure and who have the deepest pockets. I completely agree. I have sent David Wilden the link to this thread. Let us see what he makes of it, I sugggest. Cheers Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Lombard Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Do doctors in Oz have dollybirds? In the UK they have middle aged Dragons, lol! Most middle aged Dragons in my experience have a degree of efficiency inconsistent with what we see emanating from UK doctor's surgeries, sad to say. But perhaps if the genuine fire breathing type then that would solve your medical surgery access problems lol. Cheers, George Lombard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rachbarlow Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 This is not fair at all, we have all paid out a lot of money along the way either for vetassess, agents, visas and other hidden extras that pop up.Now they are starting with medicals. If they are cutting down on migrants then they should put a hold on it now, process the visas people have paid out for then open it again. I'm starting to get that awful feeling we have thrown our money away on something we wont get. I know i'm sounding negative but we have children too and its starting to feel like they are being messed about too. :arghh: I totally agree with you!!! My children don't know if they are coming or going. I am concerned about my son as he is starting to say he will miss his friends, that is why we HAVE to go before highschool. He was 5 when we should have gone, now being 8 he is making friends with people which he will have to leave. Which for a child is guess will be hard. He is very socialable and put him into a situation with new people he will make friends easily, but I think these are the sorts of issues the DIAC don't even think or care about. I can imagine the doctors who have been doing this for years, like the one Gill mentioned are livid, and so they should be. It just seems another way of introducing Bureaucracy and not even giving ANY consideration to the applicants. Yes we can shell out thousands of $$$$$$$$$$ out of our bottomless pockets filled from the money tree at the bottom of the garden, AND we can risk life and limb to get a medical, but will prob need one when we get there!!! Just remember DIAC the more you make us run around and shell out in the UK, the LESS we have to spend and establish ourselves in OZ!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Is that a battle cry I hear Alan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonnieRocket0 Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 I could not agree more about the comment about those with the deeper pockets. I contacted Sydney last week and they mentioned that there is a terrible backlog, so where my son's medical would be looked at normally in a week, this has now been delayed by 2 more weeks. Kind regards RR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonnieRocket0 Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 On the dramatic changes to medical processing in the UK, there are glass half full aspects as well. Personally I would regard it as a good thing if you can imagine the benefits of eHealth processing bypassing doctor's dollybirds sending documents to the wrong address, a standardised and therefore predictable approach to common conditions, and in particular the removal of certain practitioners known for playing God with a capital G when it came to reporting on conditions positively and negatively. The geographic parameters of the new list are consistent with panel doctor lists in other countries - even in Australia the offices of Health Services Australia aren't as close to each other as the old UK panel doctor list doctors. Cheers, George Lombard Sorry George, did I miss something? I thought e-health could only be conducted for temp visas? Is there now an ability to do PR ones this way as well? Kind regards RR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Sorry George, did I miss something? I thought e-health could only be conducted for temp visas? Is there now an ability to do PR ones this way as well?Kind regards RR Hi Ronnie If you look at the Panel Doctors Gateway (below) it seems that a recent "initiative" has been to roll out the e-Health programme world wide, for permanent as well as temporary visas: Online Health (eHealth) I don't know whether e-Health is the cause of the UK applicants being mucked about and potentially made to drive for miles after the end of this week. The Australia House London website sees no reason to tell British applicants why they should put up with being mucked about, such is DIAC's arrogance and high-handedness since Minister Evans took over the reins: United Kingdom – Panel Doctors It could be that the recent changes have nothing to do with e-Health but everything to do with sorting out the utter mess discovered by the Australian National Audit Office some three years ago: http://www.anao.gov.au/uploads/documents/2006-07_Audit_Report_37.pdf Whatever the cause, lots of Britons like Mr Luvpants are reporting that as of next week they will have to drive for miles for the privilege of consulting DIAC-approved doctors and x-ray clinics. Mr Luvpants reads the forum regularly, caught on to the change early and has arranged to have his family's medicals done today - close to Colchester where they live. His wife is a Nurse so she is on the CSL. As of next week they would have to drive from Colchester almost to Healthrow to get their medicals done, Mr Luvpants reports. That is not a funny drive on a sunny day, even. There would be a good 20 miles of the A13 (I think it is - the motorway from Felixstowe/Harwich to London) at least, which is a good 20 miles, then there would be another 40 odd miles from Stansted round the North of the "magic circle" M25 to get to Heathrow. The M25 is notorious for causing accidents at the best of times because it is so abominably poorly thought out. 60 or 100 miles is nothing in Australia but it is a huge distance in the UK because of the amount of traffic, poor driving conditions and poor roads most of the time in the UK. Going by train wouldn't be any better because the family would have to get to Liverpool Street on a proper train and then use a combination of the Circle and District Line tubes to get to Heathrow I would think. That expedition would cost £100 per person, second class off-peak in the UK - with the cost of the medicals to be added on top. Lack of competition could well push the prices of medicals up in the UK because only market forces control what one pays for private medicine in the UK etc. DIAC's PR machine has failed dismally yet again. That has not seen fit to tell British applicants why they should be mucked about in the UK as of next week. People are finding out by phoning the panel doctors and x-ray clinics but none of them seem to know the reason for the sudden changes either. Australia would do better to consider Canada's & NZ's Panel Doctor Lists for the UK than to think about Australia's Lists for Health Services Australia in Australia. Those are the countries which people from the UK will go to in future years instead of tolerating any more nonsense and costs from the Aussies, after all. I think that Australia has dropped yet another expensive PR clanger into the laps of British applicants, quite honestly. I don't think Minister Evans has a clue how to handle people - that came across when he was on telly all day at the Senate Estmates Committee Hearing on 20th October. He is easily rattled and riled when people tell him, "Oi! Sunshine! This will NOT do so obtain a sense of adulthood from somewhere." His performance was dismal but some of the other Senators performed brilliantly, particularly Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells. All that she needs is proper briefing and the Minister hates her which is all to the good! They meet again in Feb 2010 and I intend to ensure that the Opposition Senators are properly briefed about the mess which is skilled migration under Senator Evans this time. Cheers Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonnieRocket0 Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 I think a new name for Mr.Evans should be Baldrick like the character from Blackadder. He always started with a 'Master, I have a cunning plan!' Which more often then not was doomed to failure. It's amazing how these changes in policies really mess the system up. I can't for the life of me fathom how this particular change will benefit anyone. Does this mean that a decision about an applicants health is made by the HOC or the Panel Doctor? I was under the assumption that no matter how soon the HOC recieves documents they get processed on a first come first served basis. I could understand it if a British based doctor was making the decision for the HOC and then forwarding his results to DIAC. As we are reminded it is not the HOC who make a judgement upon our applications, the merely provide an opinion as to if we would be a strain in the Health system in Australia. Its the CO's etc who play god. I'm wondering if there are a lack of doctors at HOC or a cheaper option would be to use the panel doctors based in the UK. Maybe still I could have it all wrong??? Who knows? Hoping that there is a light at the end of the tunnel Kind regards Ron Rocket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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