medical issue

[Unregistered]

Ive recently completed phase 3 and have started the HND on phase 5 but go back to sea in january and have my medical to renew soon and over the summer i suffered from a life threatening illness called acute pancreatitis and ive looked at the relevant M notice in regards to medicals and it said that if its recurring then its classed as a permanent bar. However ive only had it once and has not recurred but there is no details to say whether this is a bar or not. If the worst case scenario which is that i fail my medical due to this happens then what usually happens next?

Thanks for your time

[Chiefy]

I assume your company is aware of the illness and it's consequences? If you hid it from them then they will not be happy.

If you fail your medical then you may appeal, but I would think if the illness is likely to recour then you wouldnt want to be at sea anyway, medical facilities on ships are variable at best......

Best bet, either talk to the doctor or talk to your company as soon as possible.

If you are barred from going to sea, then I would guess it's a safe bet you will be asked to give up your cadetship, as you wont be able to join any vessel as an officer without a medical. However you may get a limited ENG which would alow you to sail coastal / near european water...ie never far from a helicopter / medivac.

Again, talk with your doctor or the MCA doctor and your company, everything else is just speculation I'm afraid

[Hatchorder]

From what I understand there are a couple of underlying things that cause it and one of them is Gall Stones. I assume you had tests etc. Did they tell you why and if it was likely to recurr. Trust me being deep sea with an acute attack would be hell.

Have you checked the ADG guidance on the MCA website. You can even speak to one of the MCA doctors if that will help.

As Chiefy says - tell your employer and be honest.

[Unregistered]

Thanks for the replies

Yeah ive spoken to my company about it and they know that ive had it and recovered from it. Got my medical tomorrow so will see what happens. I mean, if its non-recurring then i hope the doctor see it as a one-off and issues the medical certificate but then again it happened just in the summer so the time from then until now may be too short.

Once again, thanks for the replies and will let you know how it all goes.