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medical board after 18 months

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hi there medics...

just a quick one do you know how far in advance i will be told the date of my formal medical board at henlow?

my 18 month point is 13th nov... but i am away until the 18th... the med centre are aware of this already...

what actually happens at a medical board? I am out in september after 9 years as i can;t currently sign on and i am no better now than i was before the operations i have had... (all stated in my other posts) i am due to go for another in Dec... a cortisone injection into the joint of my ankle will this help in my case for a medical discharge?

any info you have on the process of med boarding would be gratefully recieved thanks again goaters
 
Rather than go into a long rambling explanation of the ins and outs of medical boards it would be better for you to actually contact the subject matter experts at Henlow, The Med Boards guys are very friendly and have a whole load of advice that they can impart (including some very user friendly leaflets on what happens during the boarding process). As to whether or not you will gain a medical discharge that's pretty much out of their hands since the decision is not theirs to make, they can only make recommendations from the medical viewpoint. Try 95381 x6349 and see what they can tell you. Of course if they tell you to ram it let us know!
 
One thing I left out. If you don't get any joy from them definitely approach the Practice Manager at the SMC. Usually they're old farts like me with tons of knowledge about boards. If that's no help let me know and I'll make some calls!
 
There'll be no problem with you being a few days out-of-date from your 18 month point so no need to worry yourself there.

The MB process takes usually a few hours. Starts with an interview where they'll go through some forms with you and explain the process. After that you'll undergo a medical exam (wear clean shreddies!) and they'll obviously want to ask you a lot of questions about your medical history esp the bit about your ankle problem.

After that you'll be called into see the President of the Board and it's normally him who decides if your medically fit (based on the recommendations made so far) to continue in the RAF or not.

In cases of discharge you'll be re-interviewed and given more forms to complete. It's important that you take your time over one of the forms in particular as it gives you the chance to 'state your case' in terms of how knackered your ankle is, how it happened, your current state of health etc. You needn't complete it there and then but go prepared with what your going to say on this form if you think your going to be discharged as its the one that goes to the invaliding people who will look at it when deciding to award you any compo.

As the other poster said the final decision rests with High Wycombe who have the power to overturn the President's recommendation if they chose (though it doesn't happen that often as the President will usually confirm the recommendation made by the Orthopaedic Consultant in your case).

If you're going to be discharged its Wycombe who decide under which QR you'll exit under. In plain speak it's either invaliding or non-invaliding.

After that your paperwork will go to Glasgow Pensions and then onto The Vets Agency at Blackpool (if invaliding).

The whole process takes anywhere between 3 to upto 6 months in some cases.

One thing I'd definitely do is request a copy of your Medical Records before the Board at Henlow from your SMC via your HR. It's free and you might want to give it to someone like the Legion if you think you've been hard done by.

BTW, if the Pres recommends discharge you go on indefinite sickleave immediately.

The cortisone injection you have may or may not have some bearing but its difficult to say. The steroid is only a form of treatment and in some cases it doesn't always work.

Hope this helps?
 
hi there rammy

thanks for the info...

your posting has given me quite a bit of info to be thinking about... i still haven't had the date through for he official med board yet but am hoping it comes through soon as i want to get the whole thing done and out of the way so i can start sorting my future out... i think my main help in getting MD'd will be that i am STILL ungoing medical treatment for the problem both under the care of the RCDM Birmingham through the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital and Headley Court who have yet to discharge me from there care as the problem is not yet rehabilitated... i have pending appointments with both and the specialist i have been seeing in Birmingham has stated that he believes with the problems i currently have that i am not fit for a military career... not sure if he has put pen to paper on that one though will be checking up on that front..

sounds like it will be a long and most likely stressful day down at henlow then when the appointment finally comes through... i am not really sure what to expect as far as the outcome goes to be honest as at the moment i am able to do the majority of my job but with limitations that if i stuck religously to i would be not working at all... as things stand this is what i can and can;t do...

CAN DO: Z1 areas but nothing class as an Op area, office work, non physically strenuous work, CCS, trade courses.

CAN'T DO: Guard, carry a weopon, Op zones (Iraq, Afghanistan, Falklands, and Cyprus!!) any physical strenuous exertion, RAFFT.

currently if i am due to go away for any more than a few days i have to have a full medical prior to leaving and have to be signed each time as fit for that task based on medical aid available and the type of work to be carried out.

i am hoping to have the appointment through in the next week or so but i will be giving them a call to find details out sometime this week to see what has been done so far... if anything

so if they reccommend a discharge i would be finished work on the spot basically? would that be on full pay still until a discharge date was confirmed taking into account terminal, annual and resettlement leave?

will update again when i have anything...

cheers goaters for all the help and info you have given me over the past few months
 
Its quite quick and simple

Its quite quick and simple

If you are to be Medically Discharged you will not be going back to work after your appointment at Henlow, you will be placed on sick leave and sent on your way after filling in the forms mentioned above. (If you are still receiving treatment this may have some impact here)

Your case then goes ACOS Manning for review, as above, of the decision, this is rarely overturned.

Once the decision has been ratified they work out your exit date, including any annual leave, terminal leave and the enhanced resettlement. Once they have this you'll be called into see the Chf Clk (if you can travel) and any admin matters will be sorted.

All this time you will be on full pay, of course any home to duty or locational allowances should stop from the first day of your sick leave. Once you are out you will receive details of your medical pension (enhanced normal rates and index linked to the RPI) and you will get a lump sum of three times your pension, my wife was a SAC with just under 12.5 years service and she got a pension of £4,900 and a lump sum just under £15,000.

Your case is then referred to the compensation people (this is why it is important that you take care over the form that is a statement of your problems - top tip don't include anything you don't need to) who will see if you are due any additional compensation and a war pension, this is important because if you receive a penny's compensation your medical pension becomes tax/NI free, and a lot of councils will disregard it for benefits payments and other entitlements.

If you disagree with their decision you then ask them to reconsider and if they maintain the same decision you can apply for an appeal (at which time you contact the RBL to help out)

Good luck, I hope it goes well and that your ankle gets better, the above is purely my wife's experience last year so I hope it's still current.
 
Rammy said:
In cases of discharge you'll be re-interviewed and given more forms to complete. It's important that you take your time over one of the forms in particular as it gives you the chance to 'state your case' in terms of how knackered your ankle is, how it happened, your current state of health etc. You needn't complete it there and then but go prepared with what your going to say on this form if you think your going to be discharged as its the one that goes to the invaliding people who will look at it when deciding to award you any compo.
Click to expand...


Please bear in mind that should you be told you are being discharged, you may find yourself in a state of shock and disbelief. The form that you have to fill out is one of the most important documents that you will ever have to put your name to.

Rammys advice is sound but I would seriously rehearse what you are going to write down before the medboard itself. I didn't know that it was possible to take the form away.

Go prepared and don't let them make you sign anything that you are unsure of.


TW
 
hi there

thanks again for the helpful info goaters... i have got most of the info they will require already wrote down as i have been keeping an injury journel type thing of my appointments operations and what not, which will help with time lining the events that lead to the board itself i have copies of the letters the specialists have wrote to the SMC, and a copy of my records as well... so i set as far as that goes... i am going in there with the expectation for discharge so if it does happen hopefully it won;t be too much of a shock to the system... but who knows... i'm not 100% confident i will get a full medical discharge as i can still carry out some part of the military requirement... but i don;t know its up to them,,, i know i will never run properly again so the RAFFT is out and it is a big thing these days..

well its a wait and see game now
 
It's definately worth keeping a journal as the form we've mentioned will ask you to detail names, dates and hospitals etc. However, the bit you write (your statement) provides only enough room for a few paragraphs at best. An attached A4 piece of paper with RELEVANT information is allowed. If you decide to take the form away then they'll want it back ASAP as they can't process your docs without it. You'll also get given a photocopy of it too. I can't stress enough the importance of this form. Don't be rushed into completing it if you're given it.

No one can predict the outcome of your MB mate. Suffice to say that if you have a firm recommendation from a Consultant in your area of treatment (ie Orthopaedics) who has stated something like " ..I therefore recommend a medical discharge as this patient is no longer fit to continue within the Service.." then it's highly unlikely that anyone will go against it as, afterall, he is the Consultant in Orthopaedics and therefore the Specialist in his field. So, it's best to go to Henlow expecting the worst and anything else is a bonus. Or vice-versa depending on what you want the outcome to be.

You will most likely be asked what you want as well. Don't be afraid to be honest. If you've decided that leaving will give you the best option so that you're young enough to change career path then do it.

You'll know when you're appointment has arrived at your SMC as you have to have a mini-medical performed by them within 5 working days of your MB appointment so they'll want to see you. You also have to sign a form as acknowledging your MB appointment.

As another poster has said, you'll be in receipt of full pay right upto your final day of Service. It's possible that you could work as a civvy whilst you wait for your final exit date, however, you'll be expected to inform the Tax Man and teh Service probably!
 
PS. I forgot to add that you can be discharged whilst being in receipt of treatment if that treatment is unlikley to affect the outcome of your MB decision.

In other words, if you're likely to get an awfully lot better through the treatment you're going to receive then they can and may defer your MB. But that's a medical judgement call that could be made at your MB or later by Wycombe.
 
hey there

thanks alot rammy for all the info you have given to me in this thread i really appreciate it.

as things stand i am ready to leave the RAF now as i have been refused the option to sign on already just a few months back so i geared myself up for leaving now and really now its just a case of how i leave... i don;t want to PVR as i only have 10 months left of what i;m signed up for and if i can get out on a medical then atleast i leave with a little something... at the moment the surgeon specialist has said that it is very unlikely that with out further surgery i would be able to run to the point of passing the rafft and he has put pen to paper on that i believe and the cortisone injection is more to relieve the long term wearing problem on the bones in my ankle due to the non working tendons and what not in his opion to resume a military lifestlye in full i would require more surgery but whether he has wrote that i am not sure but i will be contacting him at some point before my MB to see if he will write a little something i can take with me and present to the MB stating his reccommendations as well as that could help me... i already have a good idea as to what i want to do when i leave and have back up options as well as i have had a long time to think the future over i am hoping to get a definative answer from the MB when the appointment finally comes through i will be chasing it up this week and will let you know when i am due for it and update on the outcome as and when i get it... if anyone has anything else that would help me out so i can go as prepared as possible i would be really grateful for it... and any past experiences of what people were asked and what the set up is like as i hope to go in knowing what to expect so i don;t get too nervous...

could you put 1 romour to bed for me goaters... i have heard through various channels that most 18 month reviews end in either med discharge or re trade... is this true?

thanks everyone
 
No worries.

Something that you should bear in mind though....

With so little time left to serve they may well give you a reduced permanent employment standard which means that you're effectively on light or sedentary duties until your natural discharge date. Think about...... it could cost them less that way!

The remustering option depends on what you're fit for and trade availability. The objective of a MB isn't soley a means with which to remuster or discharge. It's to award a permanent finding on your medical fitness for Service. Having said that, they have to also bear in mind the 'Warfighter First' principle.

Good luck mate.
 
hi there rammy

i appreciate that the med board have a whole host of options available to them to solve any one scenario on its own individual basis and that no 2 cases will ever be the same and it is very much dependant on the people making the decisions at the end of it all... i am hoping that things go my way for a med discharge just so i go with smoething in my hand for all the agro...

things that should work in my favour (could be wrong though)

1. I am still under the care of Headley Court who have not state that i am fully recovered yet.

2. Still undergoing surgical treatments at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital Birmingham.

3. With regards to the "warfighter first" i am not allowed at present to carry a weapon, do IRT, deploy to an Operational theatre, Guard Force.

4. I am still unable to run without pain almost instantly coming on and to that end am exmpt the RAFFT.

5. My current Med Chit (Biff chit to all the wonderful people who are so perfect they can't be injured and I am in their view a burden to world not just RAF, not that it bothers me that much though...) states that i am unfit strenuous physical exertion, unfit RAFFT TFN.

i think that the above combined is a fairly good advert..


what do you think?

oh i have my preliminary medical at the SMC on the 20th Nov so i will find out if i am being refered for the medical board there i would think... i called them today to find out and they gave my that day for the medical so the ball is rolling...
 
well i said i would post an update and here it is...

i have my "med review" today for what it was worth that is... i have come out with no more of a clear picture of my future then when i arrived... i have to go back again in 2 weeks for a further review as the doc claimed there was not sufficient information in my file to refer me to henlow... the same information which has kept my downgraded for the past long long time... how that works i have no idea...

so i have to once again sit it out and wait wonderful news
 
Mate, I have every sympathy for you. The medical system is like Russian Roulette. You are never quite sure if you're gonna get the bullet.

I will never forget the day that I went to see an RAF specialist with the proviso that I was to be upgraded from a TMES, with a supporting letter from the civvy consultant advising on my health, only for the RAF consultant to downgrade me even further than what I was before, ******.

As he prodded and poked around, he said that he couldn't find anything wrong and that I "presented as a healthy person".
He also said he knew nothing of the condition I had been diagnosed with 6 months earlier and told me how very seriously ill I was.

Then the medical system minefield, lottery, wheel of fortune, deal or no deal bingo game began


GOOD LUCK.

Once the system has you, it won't let you go.


TW
 
Sounds like your Med Centre are treating you very poorly. Was the Doctor who saw you Service? Personally I'd request an appointment with the Practice Manager. I feel you have grounds for a complaint at the very least or at least a explanation.
 
If you are temp downgraded for 3 consecutive periods of 6 months, the med centre can, on advice from the med board, extend this by a further 6 months.
But, you have to have a med board at Henlow to review your MES.
If there isnt enough info in your file how did they manage to downgrade you in the first place?
TMES is exactly what it says. Temporary. The med board is to review the case and come up with a PMES, Permanent.
Only the med board can award a PMES, although your med centre can upgrade you at any time.

Once you have an appointment booked with the med board you will have to get some prelims done at your med centre beforehand. This just involves urine sample, hearing test, eye test, weight, height, etc. It saves time to do it at home rather than at Henlow.
When you get your board at Henlow you first have a full medical examination. This is because you are having a full medical review to ascertain whether you should stay in, remuster or be discharged.
After that you have a consultation with the president of the board who will ask you questions about what you cant do and what you can do relating to your medical condition. You may also ask him questions at this time.
He will then award you a PMES.
Once the med board is finished your case is forwarded to Manning at High Wycombe and they will review it along with the comments made by the board.
This takes between 3 and 6 weeks I am led to believe and the results will be sent to your unit.

Clear enough?
 
hello again goaters

hello again goaters

hi there

i am back after a long absence with an eagerly awaited update i'm sure.!!!

well where to start..

I previously mentioned that my downgrade was due to expire in Nov 08, and it did. After a consultation with a service doctor who told me there was no point in sending a referral to henlow as they would reject it stating that there was insufficient information contained about my case in my file.

So we are in Jan 09 now... I have seen the surgeon again last week and he has told me that he is not preppared to perform any more surgery on my ankle as i am too young at 27 for a reconstruction or fusion operation as the results would possibly have a knock on effect to knees and hips, and to that end he has discharged me from his care and referred me to a senior consultant in Oxford who has around a 6 month waiting list, which is not really much help to me as as things stand i am out of contract in september. I have spoken to med boards at my unit (who have actually been really good with handling my case its the doctors that are messing me about, med boards were set to refer me in Nov but got told not to.!!) and have seen another service doctor who has referred me atlast to henlow...properly this time too... i have been told that my appointment will be around march time as feb is fully booked...

I am glad to an extent now that it has been sorted but i suppose nervous a bit now as well as someone else is going to make decisions regarding my future, but i am pretty sure the decision i want is not the one i will get.

I want to be med discharged i'm not even bothered which way either obviously invaliding is the money one but i don't think i qualify really as i am not really that badly damaged. Non invaliding though still has fringe benifits though doesn't it? such as more leave and things not really sure on that though.

I have researched a little into courses and found a computer course that is usually £4000 that is free for med discharged people which is a bonus as its a course i was looking into anyway so little benefits such as that make it a bit better.

I have as i was starting to lose patiance with the whole medical system already worked out my final working day which is the 25th April as i have currently 107 day leave all told.

I am hoping that this will leading in to the final chapter of my ongoing medical saga but who knows...

My current stats then

Med Cat A4 G3 Z1 T 108 110

Limitations No strenuous physical exertion, Unfit outside based areas

Exemtions RAFFT (TFN), Guard, CCS (even though i have done it recently!) Carrying a weapon, Service in Op zones, theres more but i can't think of them.

things that work against me... i don't fit the "war fighting" role of the armed forces due to the fact i am unable to run, pretty much period now as i haven't tried for a while now.

things that might stop me getting MD... i have no problems at work at all.



will update as when the med board happens
 
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