RAF medical failed - Appeal advice required please.

The best option would be to simply have his gene analysis done and attach it with the appeal showing he doesn't have the condition. That might mean paying for it privately as occupational health medicals are not part of the NHS. You might find a GP sympathetic enough to refer you to the local genetic testing service but it would be months spent waiting for an appt in the current climate and the genetic service might still (rightfully) say this is occupational health and you wouldn't be eligible for testing under the NHS.

Without the test? Maybe speak to Capita and see what they are looking for to reverse the decision if you appeal?

Hello MisterTickle,

I'm sorry to hear about your son's recent disappointment with the medical phase of his application. I know from recent personal experience how disheartening this can be. First, it would be worth taking a look at JSP 950 Medical Policy and identifying under exactly which section of the guidance your son has be classed as P8 by Capita. They should have highlighted this to you. If it states in JSP950 that the presence of condition X in a family member is sufficient grounds for a candidate to be made P8, then an appeal is likely to be difficult, in my opinion. If, however, there is no clear and specific guidance supporting the reason stated by Capita, I would follow Rosa's suggestion: gather as much medical evidence as possible to support your son's case and send it together with a letter of appeal to the DOM at RAFC Cranwell. I would imagine that the results of a genetic analysis stating categorically that your son does not suffer from condition X is crucial for this.

Ultimately, the armed forces do not run by the same standards in terms of "discrimination". They have a duty of care for applicants and service personnel and are entitled to choose/deny as they see fit given the exacting demands of potential future service life. That said, it is always worth appealing, in my opinion. You have nothing to lose. Indeed, I have read of several applicants being successful in the process, having originally been made P8 for a variety of reasons.

My own experience of the process has been somewhat disappointing, and I can't help but feel like it's all a bit arbitrary. There certainly appears to be a tendency to uphold decisions previously made by colleagues.

Best of luck with it!

Hi Rosa
Yes it quite likely that this is what they would ask for to resolve the issue, however I feel the basis of the rejection is discriminatory and probably illegal to begin with unless they are asking all applicants to go for Genetic testing.
To say that someone in you family has a genetic anomaly which could also mean that you have the same anomaly so therefore you are medically unfit is just wrong.
Firstly he may or may not have the anomoly and being asked to take a test has been neither discussed or asked for, it was straight to rejection.
Secondly and probably more importantly is that even with this anomaly there is only a very small chance that it would even affect you at all. If you do suffer from the this issue it is very apparent and obvious, not hidden or unknown.
I have spoken to the geneticist today and they are quite surprised that a diagnosis for one individual is being used as a reason to deny an employment opportunity to someone else. They are going to write a strongly worded letter of support for us.
Thank you for the advice.

Many thanks.

i have now read JSP 950 6-7-7 all 189 pages (yawn) I'm surprised it is nearly 6 years old.
Capita have not told us how or where the document applies to us and returns a P8.
The only references I find in there are on p118 under section 4-N-3 part 10 entitled "Congenital, chromosomal and genetic disorders"
"10. There is a wide spectrum of congenital disorders. The following list is not exhaustive and advice should be sought from the single-Service Occupational Physician responsible for the selection of recruits in the case of those with genetic disorders not covered below. Guidance on candidates with specific conditions is detailed below:"

The condition my other son has is not on the list.

It appears to me that even though the micro duplication is grounds to give P8 it is a broad brush to catch and halt all genetic conditions. What I do think will be helpful is to look at what they say about Huntington disease:

"a. Huntington’s disease. Candidates known to be carriers of the gene associated with this condition are graded P8. Candidates with a proven, immediate family history of this condition are graded P8 unless known not to carry the gene. Genetic testing should not be initiated solely for the purposes of recruitment."

It says "unless known not to carry this disease", therefore taking a test and showing son does not carry should be enough evidence to get the decision reversed. As said by Rosa earlier and yourself.
However It does go on to say that testing should not be initiated solely for the purposes of recruitment?
I'm assuming that this means that the RAF should not be doing the test for their purpose of recruiting however it does not stop the candidate from taking out their own personal test and then presenting their findings?

Your replies are helpful, thanks again.

Mr T

There is a more recent version (2019) available here: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/latest_edition_of_jsp_950. Although, it may well contain the same information you have quoted here.

Even Newer (Oct 22) version at https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/933993/response/2216120/attach/5/JSP%20950%20Lft%206%207%207%20JSMMF%20v2.4%20Oct%2022.pdf

Hello Ikaruss, nice to see you on here again and interesting to hear your take on things.

It's "reassuring", in an absurd way, and frustrating to know that my experience and the experience described by Mr Tickle is representative of a broader trend. Without highjacking the thread, my own recent experience fits in with your observations. It's a bit of a long one!

I suffered a pneumothorax while in Spain in 2017. The doctors at the time said they thought it was caused by a session of acupuncture I'd had that morning with a physiotherapist. It was treated accordingly and I was discharged and made a full recovery within 48 hours. However, when I was discharged, my "record" said the diagnosis was a "spontaneous pneumothorax". I'd never heard of a pneumothorax before andI just thought "whatever it is, i'm glad it's fixed". So, after leaving the hospital, I never thought twice about the written diagnosis.

The following year when back in the UK, I mentioned in passing to my doctor what had happened, what the doctors in Spain had told me, and simply gave the diagnosis listed on my out-patient record. Later, having read up out of curiosity, I saw there was a difference between what the doctors had told me and the diagnosis. The doctors had described a "traumatic" pneumothorax, despite the written diagnosis saying "spontaneous". During my RAF application I began reading JSP 950 and saw that having suffered a "spontaneous" pneumothorax is a permanent bar to entry, whereas a "traumatic" one is not. I explained the situation to the Capita doctor at my medical and he told me that it shouldn't be a problem, but they would request my GP records. Consequently, I was curious what would be written on that record and requested access to them before they were passed to Capita. However, following a two month wait, I was advised by the admin staff at my GP surgery that giving me access to the records first would cause another lengthy delay. Foolishly, I told them to send them on and I would deal with it later. Following another wait, I was finally told by Capita that I was being made PMU given my diagnosis for a "spontaneous pneumothorax in 2018".
Subsequently, I contacted my GP and explained that the information held was incorrect. They were happy to write a letter to Capita stating this. So, I sent this to DOM, explaining the situation, explained that 6 years had passed and I had carried out activity above and beyond that required in military life, and provided several articles from medical journals showing the correlation between acupuncture and pneumothoraces. A month later, I was politely told that they only had "my word" that the doctors in Spain had told me it was traumatic and my appeal was rejected. On the advice of my GP, I went to Spain and spoke to the doctor who treated me at the time, who happens to be the head of Thoracic Surgery. He shrugged off the written diagnosis saying it was just an error, as diagnoses are chosen from drop down boxes on a computer, and provided a report confirming that the pneumothorax was a result of the acupuncture and, therefore, traumatic. Consequently, I sent this to DOM as a second appeal saying "I'm happy to say, here is the doctor's word that it was traumatic". Three days later I received a blunt letter from a civil medical practitioner at DOM (a GP whose specialisation is gynaecology) saying that my appeal was not being upheld because the diagnosis was "unlikely".
How can a GP, at a surgery in a small village in Lincolnshire, whose specialisation is gynaecology, disagree with the medical diagnosis of a lung condition made by the head of Thoracic Surgery in a major hospital in a capital city, and who actually treated me at the time? Not to mentioned that I was told that my first appeal was rejected because of the lack of evidence from this doctor!
With my application now closed, I was advised by my recruiter that I could appeal again to the OC DOM, if I had new evidence. I sent them a third letter of appeal explaining that it seemed odd that the professional opinion of a specialist was ignored because a GP who did not specialise in that area thought the diagnosis "unlikely". Again, following another month wait, I received a curt letter from the OC DOM informing me that my appeal was not being upheld because they could not be "100% sure" that it had been a traumatic pneumothorax. This again, despite the doctor who treated me for it, saying so in writing.

Long story short (apologies for the long post!), an error in a written diagnosis, which was then corrected on my GP record and backed up by a letter of support from the doctor who treated me at the time was twice ignored because they could no longer guarantee it 100%. The irony being you can't guarantee 100% that anyone entering service will not go on to have a spontaneous pneumothorax. It's just crazy, and stupid, because if I had changed my GP record before applying, there would have been no problem. Nor would there be if I were to apply now.

Thanks for the update, Mr T. Fingers crossed reason prevails!

Further update:
Finally received a 1 page letter.
Excluding the waffle and crap about them being except from many employment rules, there is one paragraph that says that as there is a 50/50 chance of a genetically inherited condition they still say no.
I'm guessing that with this approach they are taking, even evidence of a negative test (simple blood test) would not alter their decision to reject.
I suppose the only advice I can give anyone applying to the RAF is you need an alternative employment path when considering joining because the bar to entry is both very high and in some cases unfair and unjust.
Thanks all.