The Brand New PIO Parents Visa thread

[Guest Gollywobbler]

What a pity that Dr Peter Goodall is no longer on the Panel. I've spoken to him a couple of times, and he was very helpful and encouraging.

 

Does anyone know anything about the London panel doctors?

 

Mike

 

Hi Mike

 

I don't know anything about the Panel Doctors in London. If you happen to be in Oz when the meds for your visa are done, you would be sent to Medibank Health Solutions in Sydney (if you are in Sydney at the relevant time.)

 

Medibank Health Solutions, Workplace Health, Injury Treatment, Injury Prevention, Flu Shots, Pre employment medicals, Health Assessment

 

If you happen to be in the UK, I would suggest that a trip to Edinburgh would be the answer if you are concerned about the meds. Edinburgh is lovely. If you make the effort, you might even meet Clarissa Dickson Wright whilst you are there. Apparently she lives in Musselburgh and has a shop in Edinburgh.

 

I would suggest Edinburgh for your visa meds because of Dr Helen Bryden, however (who probably doesn't agree with Ms Dickson Wright's idea that good food should be laden with everything that its critics say will probably kill you!)

 

United Kingdom – Panel Doctors

 

In the days before computers and e-mails really became clever, DIAC used to process all sorts of visa applications in the UK. They had offices in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. They also had doctors who were based in the UK but who had Medical Officer of the Commonwealth status, who made the medical decisions about whether a visa applicant would meet the Health requirement for migration to Oz or not. Dr Bryden was one of the MOCs in the UK.

 

After DIAC decided to set up a dedicated Health Operations Centre in Sydney and to base all their MOC doctors in Sydney, DIAC had no further use for Dr Bryden so she became an ordinary Panel Doctor instead. When Dr Douglas (DIAC's Chief Medical Officer) decided on his Big Cull of Panel Doctors in the UK, originally Dr Bryden was going to go the same way as Dr Goodall:

 

Bryden Medical Ltd

 

Dr Bryden is made of sterner stuff than Dr Douglas, I suspect! She promptly arranged to join the only surviving team of Panel Doctors in Scotland, based in Edinburgh. I have not spoken with Dr Bryden myself - she was on holiday when I phoned. However the receptionist confirmed that it is the same Dr Helen Bryden. Apparently she only goes over to Edinburgh on Wednesdays and she can only do Aussie visa meds in Edinburgh. However the receptionist - a very charming girl - said that it is perfectly possible for a visa applicant to insist on seeing Dr Bryden instead of any of the others as long as the visa applicant is willing to travel to Edinburgh on a Wednesday.

 

I know a migration agent who is a great fan of Dr Bryden's. He swears by her and it is an open secret that she was the Panel Doctor with "Framac's child" a few years ago. Technically, Framac's child is "Permanently Blind" and this little boy was registered blind in the UK. The MOC said that the child "did not meet" the Health requirement for permanent migration to Oz, arguing "significant cost." The cost was that although the child does not require any medical attention, because he is Permanently Blind he would automatically qualify for Australia's Disability Support Pension after he has lived in Oz for 10 years:

 

Disability Support Pension

 

Framac, the child's mother, was in despair. Dr Bryden did not despair. She organised a specialist ophthalmic Consultant in the UK and somehow she got the MOC in Sydney to change his mind about Framac's child, who now lives in Australia.

 

Do you know about the Guidelines for the MOC? If not, please see Page 64 of the document in the link below:

 

http://www.anao.gov.au/uploads/documents/2006-07_Audit_Report_37.pdf

 

The old Guidelines were produced circa 1995. I don't know how many of them the RMA mentioned above has, but he had obtained at least one of them and he sent it to me as an example of how the MOC doctors work. The one that I have is called Medical Oncology but there were other ones about Cardiology, Nephrology etc. I suspect that the RMA got the document from Dr Bryden although I do not know this for sure. She would have had them when she was an MOC doctor but the Panel Doctors Gateway does not even mention their existence so I am 99% certain that the vast majority of Panel Doctors know nothing about their existence.

 

Panel Doctors Gateway

 

When I received the old, out of date Guideline about Medical Oncology as a pdf file about 18 months ago, I'd already read the ANAO Report from cover to cover so I knew about the new Guidelines that are being produced. The Guideline about Medical Oncology is very technical, very abstruse and I simply filed the document and forgot about it till a few weeks ago. (And I confess that I didn’t bother to read it beyond its front cover until very recently, either!)

 

I thought about it again a few weeks ago because I was approached by a visa applicant who has recently had cancer. At the moment the MOC says that he "does not meet" the Health requirement. However this chap asked his Consultant Oncologist to contact me direct, so an Oncologist called Dr Ford sent me an e-mail recently, asking what else I could tell him about the Health requirement for migration to Oz?

 

I dug out the old Guideline on Medical Oncology and sent it to Dr Ford, warning him that it is at least 15 years out of date and that Dr Douglas (DIAC's Chief Medical Officer) is on record in Hansard during 2010, saying that a new set of Guidance Notes for the MOC has now been produced. There are 19 new documents altogether. One is a General Principles Guidance Note for the MOC and the other 18 deal with specific medical issues, as described in the ANAO Report.

 

Dr Ford asked whether it would be possible to get hold of the up-to-date Guidance Note about Medical Oncology? I asked an RMA friend of mine whether the new Note has now been published on Legend? She had a look, confirmed that it has not been published as yet and she commented that the gossip that she has heard, out in Oz, is that although 3 of the new Guidance Notes have been published on Legend, apparently the rest of them might never be published at all.

 

So I relayed this back to Dr Ford, who says "never mind." He says that cancer treatments have improved in the last 15 years and that treating the disease has become considerably more expensive during that time as well, but he has found enough in the old Guideline to be able to "clarify" his report to the MOC concerning the visa applicant who is is patient. He knows about Oncology so he ought to know what the new Guidance Note is likely to say about the subject, it seems to me.

 

If the new Guidance Notes are not going to be published on Legend then I would like to know where they are going to be published, and when? DIAC has paid an external contractor called Adhealth at least $3 million AUD for the production of the 19 new Notes, so where are they? Needless to say, I have dug out and read both of the contracts with Adhealth for their production. There are two contracts and the combined price for both of them is about $3 million AUD. The contracts were let during 2007 and they envisage completion of this special project in mid-2011. If they really have completed the project at least 16 months before the completion date originally envisaged, either the new Notes are just thoroughly sloppy, hastily produced re-hashes of the old Guidelines or Adhealth must have received a substantial special performance bonus for bringing this project home more than a year early, methinks. (And whichever MOC doctor has been overseeing production of these 19 new Guidance Notes has probably received a special performance bonus as well, I should think.) This is public money so where are the documents that have been purchased with this public money?

 

Dr Douglas described the new Guidance Notes to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration in February and March 2010, when he gave evidence to the relevant Public Inquiry in person, twice, and his words are faithfully recorded verbatim in the two Hansards about each of the public hearings:

 

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

 

Please click on the link to the Public Hearings and you can read what Dr Douglas said about it.

 

Then please click on the link for Submissions and read DIAC’s main submission at #66. They also said that the intention is to publish the new Guidance Notes on Legend.

 

In April 2010, I had a go at DIAC about their claim that they intend to “publish” these Guidance Notes on Legend. That plan amounts to hiding the bloody things on Legend, not “publishing” them in any known sense of the word. Please consider how expensive it is to buy an annual subscription for Legend:

 

LEGENDcom

 

The link for subscriptions to Legend, and the prices thereof, is in the menu on the left.

 

Short of paying for a subscription to Legend, the only way that a visa applicant can get access to Legend free of charge is if somebody in Australia goes to a State Library or one of the University Libraries in Australia on his behalf. Which is not much use in any case because the specialist doctor in charge of treating the visa applicant is the only person who would understand the Guidance Notes for the MOC and understand what they mean for his patient, the visa applicant. A lay-person has no real hope of understanding them imho. It is certainly impossible for a lay-person to understand them properly.

 

Expecting that the new Guidance Notes are to be published as PDF files, I asked the Principal Migration Officer in London whether she could get these Notes from Legend (all DIAC officers can access Legend from the computer terminals on their desks at no cost) and send them to any visa applicant who might be concerned about a particular medical problem?

 

The PMO replied that she cannot do this. Apparently the material on Legend is not published in PDF format and it cannot be copied or printed from Legend. DIAC in London are committed to helping any visa applicant in the UK in this way but the amount that they can do is actually very limited on this occasion. The most that the PMO would be able to do would be to access the relevant Guidance Note and do a copy & paste into a Word document in order to send it to a visa applicant.

 

I was so surprised by this information from the PMO that I asked another friend of mine. an Australian solicitor who is also an RMA about this. Is the PMO right? She confirms that the PMO is not fibbing. Other than doing a copy & paste there is no way to extract anything from Legend. (My Aussie lawyer friend says that Legend is rubbish. Apparently it is not at all user-friendly and legal publications that are produced on-line by the main legal publishers such as Butterworths are much, much better than Legend, she says, simply because the companies like Butterworths have to make a profit and lawyers will not buy subscriptions for anything published by Butterworths unless the on-line publication is user-friendly and easy to work. Legend is a similar idea in that it is an on-line resource but Legend belongs to the Australian Government, whose staff have to put up with it regardless of how dreadfully poor-quality it might be.)

 

Anyhow, as part of my discussion with the PMO about this in April 2010, I also had a go at Dr Douglas as well about other aspects of the Health requirement for migration, one of which is his assurance that the new Guidance Notes would be published on Legend in July 2010. How certain was he about the proposed timetable? Dr Douglas replied that he was very certain because the new Notes had already been published and approved by DIAC. They had been sent to the Royal Australasian College of [Physicians/Other Relevant Doctors] in Oz for a sanity check and endorsement by the specialist doctors in the Royal Aussie College(s.) Dr Douglas said that he was confident that all 19 of the new Notes would be available via Legend during July 2010.

 

It has not happened according to the RMA in Oz who I asked recently and she said that she has heard that it might never happen.

 

The Joint Standing Committee on Migration and the Law Institute of Victoria have both attacked the idea of hiding these new Notes on Legend instead of publishing them on the DIAC website. The trouble with doing a copy & paste is that it creates a document that is two-dimensional, in that the hyperlinks in the Word document will not work, so a good 50% of the sense and value of the original Guidance Note will be lost.

 

The other thing that I did not realise until August 2010 is that the Guideline on Medical Oncology is not a “stand alone” document. It refers to Serial 119 and Serial 123 etc. The assumption, plainly, is that an MOC doctor has these other documents called Serials to hand whilst studying the one about Medical Oncology.

 

Obviously, the new Guidance Notes have been designed to be published on-line only, so in the new Notes a reference to Serial 119 would appear as a hyperlink to Serial 119. Clicking on the link ought to take one straight to the relevant part of Serial 119, or at least to the beginning of the document called Serial 119.

 

A further thing that I did not realise until last month is down to my own fault, for not having bothered to read the Guideline about Medical Oncology before then. I can’t say that I have really “read” it even now. It is more accurate to say that I have skimmed through its 30 pages, looking for references to the XYZ type of cancer which I am told that the visa applicant in question has had. References to the XYZ cancer appear in several different places in this 30 page document. It would be very, very risky for a lay-person to do anything except copy and paste the whole of the document and to leave the visa applicant’s specialist doctor to ignore any bits that do not relate to the type of cancer concerned. If a lay-person tries to “cherry pick” bits out of the document, firstly it would take ages to do and secondly there would be a substantial risk that one would omit to copy & paste a section of medical words that might seem irrelevant to the lay-person but which are absolutely crucial to the specialist doctor treating the visa applicant and describing his/her medical issue to the MOC. The only way to even half-do it safely would be to copy and paste the whole thing into Word or PDF and then leave the visa applicant’s doctor to do his/her own weeding with a marker pen or its computer equivalent. My recent experience with Dr Ford confirms that he is more than happy to do his own weeding because he understands better than I do that I would have no sane hope of getting it right if I tried to do any weeding myself.

 

I also rang up David Wilden recently, He is DIAC’s Regional Director for Europe, based at Australia House in London. I did not phone him for the purpose of grumbling about the legal inadequacy of DIAC’s plans for hiding the new Guidance Notes for the MOC on Legend. However DW did not know why I might be ringing him and he knows that I am on the warpath about DIAC’s handling of the Health requirement for migration….

 

According to DW, in an ideal world DIAC would be delighted to publish everything that might possibly be relevant to a visa application on the DIAC website. He says that there is zero desire or intention on DIAC’s part to be secretive about any of it. (On his own part, I believe him. When it comes to his colleagues in DIAC’s Health Policy Section in Canberra, I believe the exact opposite and the ones in Canberra are the Suits who pull the strings on Dr Douglas, who is their property and their puppet, in effect.)

 

The UK Border Agency makes this sort of information freely available, via its own website, to anybody who cares to wade through the website in order to find it and read it. The same is true of the official Government website about immigration to NZ. So what’s with DIAC hiding half of the relevant information on Legend?

 

DW says that the issue is cost. It would cost a fortune to make the DIAC website bigger than it already is. To keep the website as small as possible, it only contains skeletal information about anything.

 

That is what he says. I don’t know anything about websites but I do know that it is very expensive to buy extra memory for a commercial computer system and I assume that websites use computer memory? I don’t know whether the server makes any difference because presumably the Aussie Government owns the server via which both the DIAC website and Legend are transmitted through cyber-space?

 

So that is the position as at today, Mike.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Guest julieblue]

Hi Julie

 

Welcome to Poms in Oz.

 

You say that you are 44. If you mean 44 and it is not a typing error, then you are within the age range for skilled migration to Oz if you have a skill that is in demand in Australia. Do you have a work-occupation and if so, what is your occupation, please? With Parents under the age of about 55 it is always worth investigating whether or not skilled migration might be a possibility.

 

The alternative is Parent migration via the non-contributory Parent subclass 103 visa. Please study the links below:

 

Family - Visas & Immigration

 

Parent Migration Booklet

 

Parent Visa Processing Priorities - Family - Visas & Immigration

 

The non-contributory onshore Aged Parent visa is not possible unless the Parent is Aged - ie old enough to collect the State Pension. For a father, that means he must be aged 65 or over at the time of making the visa application. For women there is a sliding scale because women used to be able to retire at 60 in Oz. That proved to be more expensive than the Government chooses to pay for so the retirement age for women has been raised to 65 as well, with a sliding scale for Mums who are already in their 60s. However if you are only 44 then you are at least 20 years too young to be able to take advantage of the onshore idea!

 

The downside with the Parent 103 visa is that at the moment, only 700 Parent 103 visas are available each year and the official Queue for them is about 15,500 applicants strong, so the Parent who applies for a Parent 103 visa can expect to wait for about 20 - 22 years at the moment.

 

I stress the words in italics because the whole issue of migration to Oz is in a state of complete flux at the moment. The Aussie Financial Year starts on 1st July every year, so the Migration Programme Year runs from 1st July as well. Until last week (literally) Senator Chris Evans was the Minister for Immi. He, thanks god, has just been replaced by Chris Bowen, who was sworn in earlier this week.

 

The quota used to be 700 PV 103s every year. For the Financial Years 2008/2009 and 2009/2010, Evans doubled the quota to 1,400 a year, which halved the waiting times and was a sensible, sane, humane step to have taken. Then about 3 months ago Evans suddenly halved the quota again but when he was the Minister for Immi, he did a good imitation of Ethelred the Unready, constantly changing his mind about everything. He ruined Australia's reputation on the international world stage by demonstrating conclusively that the Australian Governments of today do not believe in the idea of "a fair go" - which is the central idea on which Australia's international reputation has been built. The average Aussie might still believe in the idea of "a fair go" but the pollies who govern him definitely do not believe in it any more.

 

It is far too early to say whether Minister Bowen will prove to have more common-sense, decency and a sense of fairness than his predecessor. Both he and Evans are members of the Australian Labor Party, which has just formed a very fragile minority Government that I reckon is probably more fragile than the Tory/Lib-Dem coalition in the UK, so there might well be another General Election in Oz sometime in the next year or two.

 

At the moment unemployment in some of the States in the Eastern half of Oz is about 5%, I believe, which the Federal Government in Canberra reckons is too high. All the evidence is that the unemployment rate is falling quite sharply in Oz. As the number of out-of-work Aussies drops, a future Minister for Immi is likely to relax the present stranglehold on the annual intake of immigrants.

 

My own prediction is that Bowen won't do anything about increasing the numbers of Parent and Contributory Parent visa quotas. I reckon that the ALP will be chucked out of Government at the next General Election.

 

Evans has gone off to interfere with Jobs, Skills, Workplace Relations and Tertiary Education now, leaving Bowen to try to clear up the abominable mess that Evans has made in the Immigration Portfolio. Leopards do not change their spots. If Evans contrives to annoy all the Universities and most of of the workers in Oz as much as he has annoyed everyone involved with Immigration to Oz then I predict that the disgruntled Aussie workforce and the equally disgruntled universities will force another General Election not long after Evans starts wreaking any of his incompetent antics on them.

 

I don't think the Parent 103 quota will increase during the next 3-5 years but it might increase after that. It will probably turn out to be worthwhile to apply for a Parent 103 visa, firstly to reserve your place in the Official Queue for them and secondly because it is a very good bargaining chip with DIAC if employer-sponsored migration turns out to be a possibility later on. If they know that the applicant for an employer-sponsored ENS or RSMS visa is assured of Permanent Residency in Oz sooner or later anyway, by means of Parent migration instead, they tend to stop fussing and to grant the ENS or RSMS visa when they might not do so were it not for the lever of the Parent 103 visa application.

 

So to summarise, I would suggest that you study the links about Parent migration above and in the meantime, do you have a work-occupation and if so, what is it, please? I don't think that the possibiity of skilled migration should be ignored with a Parent who is under about 55.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

Hi Gill,

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I do have a skill I am a Holistic Therapist having studied Swedish Body Massage, Indian Head Massage and I am also a Level 2 Reiki therapist sadly I have not been working in this area for the last few years so according to what I have been told I can't apply on this basis unless I have been working within the said profession for at least a year prior to applying. Also as I will be 45 in April 2011 this does not give me time to be able to complete a year. I have also considered going out on years temporary visa as my daughter that is a citizen in Australia is planning to try for a baby next year and I had a thought that if I was to meet somebody out there then there would be the possibility of getting a visa on that basis, sounds desperate I know but I so want to be with my children. If there is any further advice you can give me it would be very much appreciated. And I will also look further into the parent migration as my friend has printed off the booklet from the Australian Government website as she has worked in immigration over here.

Thanks again Gill

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hi Gill,

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I do have a skill I am a Holistic Therapist having studied Swedish Body Massage, Indian Head Massage and I am also a Level 2 Reiki therapist sadly I have not been working in this area for the last few years so according to what I have been told I can't apply on this basis unless I have been working within the said profession for at least a year prior to applying. Also as I will be 45 in April 2011 this does not give me time to be able to complete a year. I have also considered going out on years temporary visa as my daughter that is a citizen in Australia is planning to try for a baby next year and I had a thought that if I was to meet somebody out there then there would be the possibility of getting a visa on that basis, sounds desperate I know but I so want to be with my children. If there is any further advice you can give me it would be very much appreciated. And I will also look further into the parent migration as my friend has printed off the booklet from the Australian Government website as she has worked in immigration over here.

Thanks again Gill

 

Hi Julie

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

The friend who told you about the need to prove a year's recent work-experience is right in as far as she went. She is referring to General Skilled Migration with this idea, which relies on a Points Test but it does not require an employer in Oz to sponsor the visa applicant and the applicant must be under 45 on the date when the visa application is made. Also, the applicant's skilled occupation must be on Australia's Skilled Occupations in Demand List (the SOL) at the time when the visa application is made.

 

That idea is now a dead duck for you in any case because the SOL was changed on 1st July 2010 and your occupation is not in Schedule 3 of the new SOL, so you would not be able to make a GSM application at all, so we can forget about that idea.

 

However, employer-sponsored migration to Oz remains a possibility, albeit not the most promising one that I have ever heard of!

 

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/agents-information/89274-new-sol-ensol-457-lists-plus-anzsco-asco-transitional-arrangenements.html

 

In your own case, I think it would be sensible to look at the skills permitted for the subclass 457 visa first:

 

http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/legislation/LegislativeInstrument1.nsf/0/975751D41E27FC88CA25774A0013EC8A/$file/10032LI.pdf

 

Massage Therapist 411611 is on Page 12 of the document. Beauty Therapist 451111 is on that page as well.

 

I have not studied the whole thing in great detail (and I tend to be bone idle and simply trust whatever George Lombard says in his posts!)

 

What do the mysterious 6-digit Code Numbers mean? They are the Code Numbers from ANZSCO (your friend will know what I mean when I say that there is a similar document in use by the UKBA. I think the UK one is called the SOC, which is a Europe-wide Skilled Occupations Classification, I think. ANZSCO is the same idea and it applies in Oz and NZ as a "joint effort" between the two countries, hence its name.)

 

1220.0 - ANZSCO - Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, First Edition, Revision 1

 

1220.0 - ANZSCO - Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, First Edition, Revision 1

 

The links above contain the descriptions of what a Beauty Therapist does and what a Massage Therapist does.

 

Which description do you fit into more closely, do you reckon? You would not be considered to be a Beauty Therapist unless you know how to do more of the tasks than solely providing massages. (Also, my guess is that a Beauty Therapist probably knows how to do facial massages, hand massages and maybe reflexology. If she knows how to do Indian Head Massage, that is probably a bonus for which she probably charges extra! However I am guessing about that. It is easy enough to find out what they do by phoning the College nearest to you and questioning the person who teaches Beauty Therapy at your local College.)

 

I think the description of Massage Therapist makes it pretty clear what they do. Some of the Massage Therapists will be thugs who know about dealing with the muscular injuries and muscular tensions that are common amongst other thugs called Footballers and Rugger B*ggers, I shouldn't think that Football and Rugby teams would employ a female masseuse, partly because she might not be strong enough to un-knot a thug's leg muscles but she would undoubtedly arouse other muscles of his which would annoy his Missus more than a little! Other Massage Therapists will be women, who might soothe away the aches and pains of a female lawyer such as myself except that I never have time to indulge in such luxury.

 

Before you stopped doing this work, what sort of environment did you work in?

 

Also, when did you stop doing this work?

 

Before I stop yapping about your skills, whereabouts in Oz does your daughter live, please? There are a lot of Fitness Clubs in the main cities and regional towns in Oz nowadays, and my guess is that you might have worked in that sort of environment?

 

One of the problems facing you is that for a subclass 457 visa DIAC are likely to expect at least 3 years of recent, relevant work-experience. It is no use telling them, "Well I did work as a masseuse 25 years ago before I became a full-time mother instead...." "Used to do" does not have the same meaning as, "I am currently employed/self-employed doing..."

 

Also, from what you say, your qualifications are more in line with those for a Beauty Therapist than those for a Massage Therapist whose work might help the patient of a doctor or a physiotherapist, I suspect.

 

I think that some recent, relevant work experience would be vital, probably. Lack of relevant, formal qualifications is not necessarily fatal if you are really a Massage Therapist rather than a Beauty Therapist but the whole thing would be a heckuva lot easier if your daughter lives in, say, Townsville instead of in the middle of Brisbane.

 

The 457 visa is described below:

 

Temporary Business (Long Stay) - Standard Business Sponsorship (Subclass 457)

 

Meeting an Aussie partner is a long shot, hon. There are plenty of single, elderly Aussie men who are on the look-out for a nubile Bogan Bride. These Aussie men who are on the look-out tend to vary between being thick twits and being Godzilla, frankly! It is the usual story of the nice ones are already spoken for and if he is single, you'd better start working out what is wrong with him that nobody else wants him, methinks.... The idea that a bloke will be wunnerful just because he is Australian could not be further from the truth, lass! The Aussie on the look-out for a bird is probably just as ghastly as Lecherous Ron, who haunts the only pub in the village where I live in the UK. He is so dreadful that I avoid the pub because I avoid him like the plague.

 

Another option for you would be a Student visa, although it would not be cheap. Please see my reply to richy on the thread below:

 

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/migration-issues/95105-parent-only-1-3-kind-oz.html

 

Have a think about it all and let me know what you think, I suggest?

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[yomvard]

Hi Sandy

 

I agree with you 100%. For you, it was definitely worth having a go. In your case, I take my hat off to Dr Peter Goodall, who said straightaway that there was no reason why your particular type of MS should prevent you from getting a CPV. He was right and he was right about my own disabled mother as well. That man should be beatified imho.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

Hi Gill,

Most definately I intend contacting him to tell him our news and also to give him my heartfelt thanks. He should never have been taken off the list of panel doctor as he gave so much confidence to go for it.

regards

Sandy

[yomvard]

What a pity that Dr Peter Goodall is no longer on the Panel. I've spoken to him a couple of times, and he was very helpful and encouraging.

 

Does anyone know anything about the London panel doctors?

 

Mike

Hi Mike,

Dont know much about the London panel doctors, we went to The Bridge, Maidenhead the second time and they were very friendly, scarily efficiient. However, when I failed the urine test, had an infection, they allowed me to go back when it was clear and do the test again, so that they could send the meds off clear. However, with me , it wasnt necessary as the CO took my frontloaded meds from last year and extended the time limit for and extra 6 months to enable the visa to go through. They cleared Colins meds from the Bridge okay though. Good luck with yours when the time comes. I must admit, the medical with Dr. Goodall in Southampton was much, much easier, not so rigorous, I didn't even have to get out of my wheelchair whereas in Maidenhead they went over me with a fine tooth comb, even more than they did with Colin, which after already having my meds done with Dr Goodall, it came as quite a shock and I was really cross that Colin had an easier time. Still I suppose they only did their job, but Dr Goodall was different altogether. So kind and understanding. All good things seem to disappear these days. Not visas though eh!!!

regards

Sandy:biggrin:

[DavidandGill]

On the subject of medicals - does anyone have any experience of the Brentwood Panel Doctors: Medical and Radiology Clinic, Spire Hartswood Hospital, Eagle Way, Brentwood Essex CM13 3LE

Doctor(s):

Dr Muneir Mohammad Khan - Dr Charlotte Elizabeth Rose - Dr Tayza Aung - Dr Jonathan Richardson - Dr Jane Horti - Dr Tay Za Aung.

Hubby, although 65 runs about 10/12 miles a week, and although a little bit heavier than he would like to be, is probably OK healthwise. I however, am overweight but fortunate in not having any other health problems. I also run (that is, I am training to try and achieve 5K in one go!), but really only do about 2 miles a week at the moment. Could my weight be an issue if all other health is OK? Gill

[PhoebeW]

Hi Mike,

Dont know much about the London panel doctors, we went to The Bridge, Maidenhead the second time and they were very friendly, scarily efficiient. However, when I failed the urine test, had an infection, they allowed me to go back when it was clear and do the test again, so that they could send the meds off clear. However, with me , it wasnt necessary as the CO took my frontloaded meds from last year and extended the time limit for and extra 6 months to enable the visa to go through. They cleared Colins meds from the Bridge okay though. Good luck with yours when the time comes. I must admit, the medical with Dr. Goodall in Southampton was much, much easier, not so rigorous, I didn't even have to get out of my wheelchair whereas in Maidenhead they went over me with a fine tooth comb, even more than they did with Colin, which after already having my meds done with Dr Goodall, it came as quite a shock and I was really cross that Colin had an easier time. Still I suppose they only did their job, but Dr Goodall was different altogether. So kind and understanding. All good things seem to disappear these days. Not visas though eh!!!

regards

Sandy:biggrin:

 

Let's hope not :arghh: I've got a long way to go yet :frown:

 

Phoebe

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hi Gill,

Most definately I intend contacting him to tell him our news and also to give him my heartfelt thanks. He should never have been taken off the list of panel doctor as he gave so much confidence to go for it.

regards

Sandy

 

Hi Sandy

 

I think Dr Goodall would really appreciate it if you repeated your very kind words to him.

 

At the height of the fuss about the Cull - which was handled so abominably badly by DIAC that it is a wonder that any GP in Britain is still willing to put up with them by remaining on their panel - I rang Janice, Dr Goodall's practice manager.

 

She said that DIAC had demanded that the x-rays and the meds must be done at the same place. So she had contacted the BUPA Hospital in Southampton to ask them whether it would be possible for them to set aside a consulting room for Dr Goodall at the hospital? The BUPA Hospital confirmed that this would be no problem and Dr Goodall offered to waste his own time traipsing around Southampton just to please DIAC.

 

They rejected the offer, despite the fact that the arrangements Janice had made complied with DIAC's demands to the letter. There is no way that DIAC can use their perennial excuse about "cost" over this one. They paid for Dr Douglas and at least one other MOC doctor to fly to the UK. Civil servants always demand Business Class seats for this sort of journey and since Dr Douglas is so senior, it is possible that he qualifies for a seat in First Class (the civil service never worry about cost to the tax payer just so that members of their own staff can live in the lap of unnecessary luxury.) If Dr Douglas was able to travel in First Class then the other MOC doctor would have been able to do so as well. Then the pair of them (or more if there were more) would not have been expected to stay in some cheap little rat hole of the cheapest B&Bs they could find, plainly. To cover the UK it is easier to use trains, planes and hire cars waiting at airports/railway stations than to slug it out driving oneself for long distances. First class travel on trains costs more than twice the amount of cattle class on a train.

 

It undoubtedly cost a fortune for two doctors from Australia to shaft many of their colleagues in the UK and I am told that DIAC offered no apology and no explanation for treating so many other doctors so abominably badly.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[Les Avalook]

On the subject of medicals - does anyone have any experience of the Brentwood Panel Doctors: Medical and Radiology Clinic, Spire Hartswood Hospital, Eagle Way, Brentwood Essex CM13 3LE

Doctor(s):

Dr Muneir Mohammad Khan - Dr Charlotte Elizabeth Rose - Dr Tayza Aung - Dr Jonathan Richardson - Dr Jane Horti - Dr Tay Za Aung.

Hubby, although 65 runs about 10/12 miles a week, and although a little bit heavier than he would like to be, is probably OK healthwise. I however, am overweight but fortunate in not having any other health problems. I also run (that is, I am training to try and achieve 5K in one go!), but really only do about 2 miles a week at the moment. Could my weight be an issue if all other health is OK? Gill

 

I have linked this over on BEP as I think one of the posters used them this year.

 

They are our closest location but are one of the dearest on the list ( beating Knightsbridge:realmad: ) but then where is the competition?

[BandC]

On the subject of medicals - does anyone have any experience of the Brentwood Panel Doctors: Medical and Radiology Clinic, Spire Hartswood Hospital, Eagle Way, Brentwood Essex CM13 3LE

Doctor(s):

Dr Muneir Mohammad Khan - Dr Charlotte Elizabeth Rose - Dr Tayza Aung - Dr Jonathan Richardson - Dr Jane Horti - Dr Tay Za Aung.

Hubby, although 65 runs about 10/12 miles a week, and although a little bit heavier than he would like to be, is probably OK healthwise. I however, am overweight but fortunate in not having any other health problems. I also run (that is, I am training to try and achieve 5K in one go!), but really only do about 2 miles a week at the moment. Could my weight be an issue if all other health is OK? Gill

 

 

Hello there,

 

We are on the other CPV site as Barbaran and we had our medicals done at that Spirewood Hospital and think it was Jonathon Richardson who was very helpful. You really will have no problems. Hubby ok but I have hypothyroidism and another so called chronic condition which just requires a couple of tablets today. We are in your age range and do not run anywhere. You sound pretty fit to me and for the record we are a little overweight isn't everybody our age? we had our medical done a little early to reassure ourselves and have just got our CO who has asked for AOS only so there doesn't seem to be any problems. You will only know when you get your CO unfortunately it seems although they do give encouraging noises at the hospital when you are having the medical.

[wow]

Hi,

I had my meds done at Edinburgh and they were very friendly, courteous and the Dr unofficially gave me the ok. I felt that they really wanted everyone to pass the meds as they realise how very important they are to us. I found my Dr very understanding. She even told me my urine test had failed as it showed proteinuria but not to worry as a few glasses of water would probably fix it. I drank for England and sure enouth on recehck it was ok.

[PhoebeW]

Hi,

I had my meds done at Edinburgh and they were very friendly, courteous and the Dr unofficially gave me the ok. I felt that they really wanted everyone to pass the meds as they realise how very important they are to us. I found my Dr very understanding. She even told me my urine test had failed as it showed proteinuria but not to worry as a few glasses of water would probably fix it. I drank for England and sure enouth on recehck it was ok.

 

Hi everyone

 

Just on this note of meds, we have just gone on the list this month but its something we will need to think about at some point. Does anyone know of any panel Dr's in the Tyne & Wear area would be grateful for any upfront info :biggrin:

 

Phoebe

[Les Avalook]

Hi everyone

 

Just on this note of meds, we have just gone on the list this month but its something we will need to think about at some point. Does anyone know of any panel Dr's in the Tyne & Wear area would be grateful for any upfront info :biggrin:

 

Phoebe

 

Hi Phoebe,

 

You're really spoilt for choice living up north, :no:

 

I moan about the cost of my 'local' but it's only 30 miles away, but think Manchester or Edinburgh for your 'local'.:shocked:

 

The AA think the traveling time about the same but Edinburgh is closer in miles.

 

United Kingdom – Panel Doctors

[wow]

Hi everyone

 

Just on this note of meds, we have just gone on the list this month but its something we will need to think about at some point. Does anyone know of any panel Dr's in the Tyne & Wear area would be grateful for any upfront info :biggrin:

 

Phoebe

 

Hi Phoebe,

As Les says, I think Edinburgh would be easiest for you travel wise. I live in Carlisle and it took me just over 2 hours to drive to the private hospital. I travel regularly to Manchester but it takes me 2 1/2 sometimes 3 hours to get to the centre of Manchester.

 

The beauty of going to the Edinburgh centre for your meds is that it is not in the city centre at all and is easy and free to park within the grounds.

Cost £300 if anyone is interested.

Kind regards, June

[PhoebeW]

Hi Phoebe,

As Les says, I think Edinburgh would be easiest for you travel wise. I live in Carlisle and it took me just over 2 hours to drive to the private hospital. I travel regularly to Manchester but it takes me 2 1/2 sometimes 3 hours to get to the centre of Manchester.

 

The beauty of going to the Edinburgh centre for your meds is that it is not in the city centre at all and is easy and free to park within the grounds.

Kind regards, June

 

Good grief:shocked: I didn't realise you had to go that far.....where we are is six of one and half dozen of the other travel wise.

 

Phoebe

Better set off now then :twitchy

[DavidandGill]

Hello there,

 

We are on the other CPV site as Barbaran and we had our medicals done at that Spirewood Hospital and think it was Jonathon Richardson who was very helpful. You really will have no problems. Hubby ok but I have hypothyroidism and another so called chronic condition which just requires a couple of tablets today. We are in your age range and do not run anywhere. You sound pretty fit to me and for the record we are a little overweight isn't everybody our age? we had our medical done a little early to reassure ourselves and have just got our CO who has asked for AOS only so there doesn't seem to be any problems. You will only know when you get your CO unfortunately it seems although they do give encouraging noises at the hospital when you are having the medical.

Thank you for this encouraging info. I feel that if I can prove I am reasonably fit and agile, my weight might be less of a problem - I am actually a size 18 which, as you say at our age, is not unusual at all but it does still worry me. It is vital to us to pass and get our visas because we need to be there to help our daughter and her partner with their daughter - she had a heart transplant at 7 months of age and is now (thankfully) a little dynamo, but they are expecting our new baby grandson in January and both children will be under fairly constant supervision by the Royal Children's Hospital for the rest of their childhood. As they have no other family in Oz, we are going to be really needed to help support them - something we can't wait to do!! So I shall continue to try and lose some of that weight before the medicals, Slimming World here I come ......again!

 

From what Les Avalook has said, it seems to make sense to shop around a bit for the medicals, Spirewood would be the nearest for us and probably the most convenient, but going to London would not be a problem - used to do it when I worked - so might give the Knightbridge clinic some consideration as well. Do prices differ very much.? I assumed they all charged a standard rate.

I am so glad I found this site, it's a great resource and constantly calms some of our nerves about the whole business.

Many thanks to everyone

[PhoebeW]

Thank you for this encouraging info. I feel that if I can prove I am reasonably fit and agile, my weight might be less of a problem - I am actually a size 18 which, as you say at our age, is not unusual at all but it does still worry me. It is vital to us to pass and get our visas because we need to be there to help our daughter and her partner with their daughter - she had a heart transplant at 7 months of age and is now (thankfully) a little dynamo, but they are expecting our new baby grandson in January and both children will be under fairly constant supervision by the Royal Children's Hospital for the rest of their childhood. As they have no other family in Oz, we are going to be really needed to help support them - something we can't wait to do!! So I shall continue to try and lose some of that weight before the medicals, Slimming World here I come ......again!

 

From what Les Avalook has said, it seems to make sense to shop around a bit for the medicals, Spirewood would be the nearest for us and probably the most convenient, but going to London would not be a problem - used to do it when I worked - so might give the Knightbridge clinic some consideration as well. Do prices differ very much.? I assumed they all charged a standard rate.

I am so glad I found this site, it's a great resource and constantly calms some of our nerves about the whole business.

Many thanks to everyone

 

Hi

 

Good luck with the weight loss, I managed 4 stone in 6 months 19 years ago and have never put it back on. I can't do 'diets' so I had my own plan and it worked. If you want to PM me maybe I can give you a few tips, but if you dont loose any weight, you are only size 18 after all, I have seen some pretty large women ix Oz :biglaugh:

 

Phoebe

[yomvard]

Hi

 

Good luck with the weight loss, I managed 4 stone in 6 months 19 years ago and have never put it back on. I can't do 'diets' so I had my own plan and it worked. If you want to PM me maybe I can give you a few tips, but if you dont loose any weight, you are only size 18 after all, I have seen some pretty large women ix Oz :biglaugh:

 

Phoebe

Hi Phoebe,

I think we would all love your secret to loosing weight. I am size 18, in a wheelchair and still passed my meds, so dont worry. But I would like to loose a couple of stone too, so Phoebe lets have the goss!!!

regards

Sandy:jiggy:

[Guest richy richy]

Have been keeping an eye on thisd thread for a while getting some info on parent visas..... My mam is looking into it however only has 1 (me) of 3 kids in Oz.....

 

Wow - i see your from Carlisle..... Wow - so am I haha, my mam has been in Sydney on and off for the last 2 years! ANy other oldies in Sydney looking to catch up? We are in the inner west and it would be good for her to find somebody to go on walks with, bingo or drinks etc??

[PhoebeW]

Have been keeping an eye on thisd thread for a while getting some info on parent visas..... My mam is looking into it however only has 1 (me) of 3 kids in Oz.....

 

Wow - i see your from Carlisle..... Wow - so am I haha, my mam has been in Sydney on and off for the last 2 years! ANy other oldies in Sydney looking to catch up? We are in the inner west and it would be good for her to find somebody to go on walks with, bingo or drinks etc??

 

It's not rocket science really, just drink a full glass of water before you start to eat, so you dont feel as hungry, then finish with a piece of fruit like orange or apple. I did it when my kids were young so had to be a bit 'selfish' Still have your normal meal but use a smaller plate i.e T plate instead of dinner plate and fill it up :wink:

 

One thing I did learn was, before I never used to eat a breakfast, sandwich for dinner then by supper time I was starved so ate a big meal. The best piece of advice I ever got was breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper.............it worked for me, but you have to stick at it :arghh:

 

Good Luck girls/boys :tongue:

 

Phoebe

[Les Avalook]

From what Les Avalook has said, it seems to make sense to shop around a bit for the medicals, Spirewood would be the nearest for us and probably the most convenient, but going to London would not be a problem - used to do it when I worked - so might give the Knightbridge clinic some consideration as well.

 

Do prices differ very much.? :yes: I assumed they all charged a standard rate. :no:

 

Many thanks to everyone

 

Bridge Clinic Maidenhead £193

 

Knightsbridge £220

 

Spire Hartswood £300, all per person

 

You could have a trip up the West End, do the business and still have £150 to spend in Harrods compared with Brentwood. :wink:

[Les Avalook]

Hi

 

I have seen some pretty large women in Oz :biglaugh:

 

Phoebe

 

Yes, we thought they would all look like Kylie. :twitcy:

[Linday]

We have applied for a 173 visa and will then apply for the 143 when we have sold our house. I know that you have to validate the 173 within a year of date of police checks etc. We anticipate getting a CO around November next year.

 

Does anyone know do you need to have validated the 173 before you can apply for the 143? We would want to apply for the 143 immediately, assuming we had sold our house. However due to family circumstances we may not be able to travel to Oz straight after getting our 173 in order to validate.

[PhoebeW]

Yes, we thought they would all look like Kylie. :twitcy:

 

But only if you are going to Melbourne surely :biglaugh:

 

Phoebe

[MikenSueNW3]

So says the ABC (Baby boomer retirement to hit gen Y pockets - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)).

 

Let's hope the new Immigration Minister isn't listeing!

 

Mike