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Lantern Swinger
I recently went through a medical appeals process and was successful with the appeal. Although there is a lot of information on this forum regarding appeals, there was nothing completely answering every question I had. I wanted to write a relatively long post with all of the information I wish I had when I appealed. Some of this is from my own experience and some of this is collated from the other posts I have read and questions I have had answered by various forum members (thank you @Ninja_Stoker!). I aim to approach it in a logical manner from the point of being notified that the candidate has been deemed medically unfit for service in the Royal Navy.
Step by step guide to appeal:
A letter has been received from CAPITA and from the AFCO, the first things to think about (after feeling rather upset...):
- Is my case eligible for appeal?
The key thing to remember is that the medical standards for entry to service may not be appealed against or changed (i.e. If a candidate has keratoconus and has been deemed unfit, they may NOT appeal as keratoconus makes someone unsuitable for service within the medical standards).
- What can be appealed?
If a candidate believes that the grounds for failing the medical are not accurate, or that their condition is controlled or has been cured/managed and they now fall within the medical standards FOR ENTRY (this is important), they may provide evidence (at their own cost) to prove that they meet the eligibility standards. However, the conditions listed as completely out of the question may not be appealed...it is well worth really considering whether you should appeal. At the risk of sounding coarse, there are a lot of people who appeal simply because they don't like the result of the medical, yet have no justification.
- How do I find the medical standards for entry to the service?
https://www.arrse.co.uk/community/t...n-recruiting-jsp-950-replaces-jsp-346.197864/
(Look at section 4 - The Influence of Particular Conditions on PULHHEEMS Assessment for Entry 4-1 to 4-2)
Write two letters (covering letter and appeal letter), grounds for appeal:
- Letters should be in a logical format, not bogged down with your own medical justifications, keep it simple
The first letter (Cover letter to AFCO), should be a simple letter to inform your careers adviser you wish to appeal. It should not include any medical information, just full name, candidate number, DoB and contact details (formatted like a traditional formal letter). The second letter is to be placed with any extra evidence in another envelope with your full name, Dob, candidate number and 'MEDICAL PROTECT'. This envelope should be sealed and placed in an outer envelope with the covering letter.
- Format of the appeal letter
This is just the format that I used, but to me it looked like a simple, well written letter. I started with a brief paragraph stating that I wished to appeal the decision of CAPITA made on (date), as I had good reasons. I stated that these reasons and pieces of evidence would be listed below.
For the structure of the paragraphs it is a good idea to write a sentence with the reason and then an explanation of what the candidate has done to get checked out or to prove that a condition is not an issue. This should be followed with the title or name of whatever piece of evidence included (e.g. Consultant radiologist report, MRI scan or physiotherapist report, training diary or screen shots from a running/workout application).
Within the final paragraph it is useful to recap reasons and list the evidence included within the appeal pack you send. Also, remember that the appeal is only reviewed if there is further evidence from a consultant or other healthcare professional. My evidence was a GP letter, this was further to the records CAPITA had already seen.
Make sure you keep the letter concise with no extraneous sentences - don't waffle!
Send to AFCO, AFCO sends off to Service Entry Medical Cell (SEMC) and sends you a letter of acknowledgement
- How long does the process take?
For me (and this is only in my case), the wait was 3-4 weeks, however, this does fluctuate dependant on the number of appeals through etc.
Try not to be impatient. This is one of the points I needed to heed with my appeal. I was chomping at the bit to find out what the outcome would be and it drove me crazy! There are so many appeals for the SEMC to get through, as well as for each individual AFCO to sort out and send and unfortunately it is just one of those things that need a little patience.
As soon as the appeal decision is made there will be a letter from the SMO(SE) explaining the reasoning (either successful or not) and dependent on that you will either be advanced to the next stage of training (or unfortunately not).
The good thing about the letter from the Service Medical Officer (Service Entry) (SMO(SE)) is that it is really well thought out and really shows they have taken time and care over the decision that could potentially change the course of the life of an individual.
I believe that covers everything I know. I would be happy to answer any questions to the best of my own knowledge, if I can't, I'll either find out for you or signpost you to someone who can!
Good Luck!
- R
Step by step guide to appeal:
A letter has been received from CAPITA and from the AFCO, the first things to think about (after feeling rather upset...):
- Is my case eligible for appeal?
The key thing to remember is that the medical standards for entry to service may not be appealed against or changed (i.e. If a candidate has keratoconus and has been deemed unfit, they may NOT appeal as keratoconus makes someone unsuitable for service within the medical standards).
- What can be appealed?
If a candidate believes that the grounds for failing the medical are not accurate, or that their condition is controlled or has been cured/managed and they now fall within the medical standards FOR ENTRY (this is important), they may provide evidence (at their own cost) to prove that they meet the eligibility standards. However, the conditions listed as completely out of the question may not be appealed...it is well worth really considering whether you should appeal. At the risk of sounding coarse, there are a lot of people who appeal simply because they don't like the result of the medical, yet have no justification.
- How do I find the medical standards for entry to the service?
https://www.arrse.co.uk/community/t...n-recruiting-jsp-950-replaces-jsp-346.197864/
(Look at section 4 - The Influence of Particular Conditions on PULHHEEMS Assessment for Entry 4-1 to 4-2)
Write two letters (covering letter and appeal letter), grounds for appeal:
- Letters should be in a logical format, not bogged down with your own medical justifications, keep it simple
The first letter (Cover letter to AFCO), should be a simple letter to inform your careers adviser you wish to appeal. It should not include any medical information, just full name, candidate number, DoB and contact details (formatted like a traditional formal letter). The second letter is to be placed with any extra evidence in another envelope with your full name, Dob, candidate number and 'MEDICAL PROTECT'. This envelope should be sealed and placed in an outer envelope with the covering letter.
- Format of the appeal letter
This is just the format that I used, but to me it looked like a simple, well written letter. I started with a brief paragraph stating that I wished to appeal the decision of CAPITA made on (date), as I had good reasons. I stated that these reasons and pieces of evidence would be listed below.
For the structure of the paragraphs it is a good idea to write a sentence with the reason and then an explanation of what the candidate has done to get checked out or to prove that a condition is not an issue. This should be followed with the title or name of whatever piece of evidence included (e.g. Consultant radiologist report, MRI scan or physiotherapist report, training diary or screen shots from a running/workout application).
Within the final paragraph it is useful to recap reasons and list the evidence included within the appeal pack you send. Also, remember that the appeal is only reviewed if there is further evidence from a consultant or other healthcare professional. My evidence was a GP letter, this was further to the records CAPITA had already seen.
Make sure you keep the letter concise with no extraneous sentences - don't waffle!
Send to AFCO, AFCO sends off to Service Entry Medical Cell (SEMC) and sends you a letter of acknowledgement
- How long does the process take?
For me (and this is only in my case), the wait was 3-4 weeks, however, this does fluctuate dependant on the number of appeals through etc.
Try not to be impatient. This is one of the points I needed to heed with my appeal. I was chomping at the bit to find out what the outcome would be and it drove me crazy! There are so many appeals for the SEMC to get through, as well as for each individual AFCO to sort out and send and unfortunately it is just one of those things that need a little patience.
As soon as the appeal decision is made there will be a letter from the SMO(SE) explaining the reasoning (either successful or not) and dependent on that you will either be advanced to the next stage of training (or unfortunately not).
The good thing about the letter from the Service Medical Officer (Service Entry) (SMO(SE)) is that it is really well thought out and really shows they have taken time and care over the decision that could potentially change the course of the life of an individual.
I believe that covers everything I know. I would be happy to answer any questions to the best of my own knowledge, if I can't, I'll either find out for you or signpost you to someone who can!
Good Luck!
- R