my little brother has been trying to get his F7537D form filled in, the gp is saying they don’t understand what the form wants. they refuse to communicate with the squadron CO because they aren’t related to my brother.
Gp has messaged CFMO but has not heard anything back, this has been an issue since February.
my brother is frustrated, he doesn’t understand why everyone elses doctor has signed off. it is going to affect his ability to go flying
Is this for CCF-related to permissions (or amplifying medical conditions) to go flying / gliding?
A quick bit of ‘Googling’ …bored at work!
…this is some sort of consent to fly / ID document ….not a medical declaration unless as you say above it has ‘specific’ medical bit on it!
Isn’t the 6424 the medical form ….at least it always was back in the day!
Broke the boredom ….back to work!
6424 is the medical form yeah, which we currently can’t get CFMO sign off for. I’ve never heard of an F7537D but if it needs to go to the CFMO then I assume it’ll be in the same position.
According to my research F7537D is a CCF cadet ID card, so I’m guessing we’re talking about the equivalent of F3822A or 3822H here?
If the form is the CCF ID “document” or similar then I don’t understand why a GP would be involved - unless perhaps there are underlying medical conditions?
If there is anything of a medical nature that might be solved by appropriate liaison with the parents / sqn / GP, then perhaps the parents can authorise direct contact between GP & sqn to facilitate this & clear up any issues.
Question to CCF unit commanders at schools - wouldn’t there be something like this anyway to act as a proxy if needed?
If this is specifically for F6424 action that requires CFMO input, sadly, this is not feasible now - although if it was requested before the cut-off date (30 Apr), it’s strange that nothing has come back. RAFAC are looking for alternative ways to cover this important aviation medicine requirement.
As Mike has alluded to, the CFMO support for 6424s has now been withdrawn so more than likely the CFMO will not respond.
we’ve tried this. they refuse to discuss medical information with someone who isn’t family, despite us giving permission.
my brother is getting frustrated that he can’t go flying without it. he’s also worried that not having the forms could impact his ability to attend events like shooting competitions or camps
If it is due to a medical condition then I doubt he’ll be able to go flying at the moment anyway, as he’ll likely need an F6424 which we can’t get approved at the moment.
I don’t understand this at all. Has anyone tried to speak to the GP Practice Manager (not just reception)? There should be a way to resolve this if the family have given permission for medical details to be shared. Without giving away personal medical information / data, are you able to give more details why the GP won’t sign off the F7537D? I’m not aware (but happy to be enlightened) of any equivalent action for the F3822A / H.
There’s been a big (detrimental) jump on the Av Med Form (v5.0) - previously a GP could sign up a cadet as “fit to fly” for the specified medical conditions. It was only if the GP had any doubt, or didn’t want to have the responsibility of signing the F6424, that the CFMO would be involved (had to do this a couple of times).
What I don’t understand is why the first option (GP sign off on F6424) has been removed. Yes, no upward sign off by CFMO is currently possible, but why cut everything out?
If this was submitted before the cut-off date but not actioned, then I would suggest a followup to CMFO.
There isn’t I don’t think, the 3822A/H doesn’t “approve” cadets to do certain activities. Other than for flying, that’s up to the event organisers to decide if the cadet can participate safely.
My own Doctors Surgery has a very clear statement on their website to the effect that they will not do aviation medicals or certify anyone fit to fly as their insurance does not cover them if something goes wrong.
That shouldn’t be a stopper for the F6424:
To avoid confusion, be advised that you are not being asked to carry out a medical examination or make an assessment the cadet’s fitness to fly. Except for circumstances outlined in the following paragraph, you are only being asked to confirm that there is nothing in the cadet’s medical history that would prevent them from achieving the DVLA medical standards for private driving.
While the baseline medical standard is DVLA Gp 1, some medical conditions, although perhaps not a bar to holding a private driving license, may be incompatible with flying and must be discussed with the Command Flight Medical Officer (CFMO) and any decision by the CFMO recorded in the box provided on the form, before you sign the certificate. Page 3 of the F6424 lists those medical conditions that will always require discussion.
The second para is defunct, so no CFMO action is currently available.
For aviation medicals per se, they are not qualified to do so (unless UK / EASA AME); for “fit to fly” I wonder if they mean on commercial flights as a pax?
….their?
is it not NHS “insurance”?
and FWIW - NPPL flying only requires this level of “medical”
if you are fit enough to drive to the airfield, you are fit enough to fly the aircraft.
It gets a bit complicated. When I’ve had to get a fit note, I’ve had to pay the doctor’s LTD company, for example. Even though it’s my GP.
Doctors who are community GP’s are not employed by the NHS and their insurance is not NHS insurance. GP’ run their own business to provide their services and have a contract with the NHS to do so. As their own business they to arrange and pay for their own Professional Indemnity Policy to cover themselves.
it’s exactly the same for pharmacists as my son is one.
Very true, but I think that some GPs still fret over the F6424 as they are trying to determine if a 13-14 yr old cadet is fit enough to “drive.” Moreover, if there is a “neuro-diverse” condition listed (a high possibility), then does (to a GP) maturity improve such a condition?
Whilst my cadets needing F6424s haven’t had that difficulty, it’s certainly been a discussion with other local CFAVs.
Sorry - late to the party here. Did the original issue get resolved @ravenb ?
CCF Aerospace Officer (volunteer, not permanent staff) here - there is absolutely nothing on the 7537D that requires the GP to sign anything. If you are a parent you should have been asked to complete 3822A (same form as the ATC) on joining, and if there are health conditions you need to declare for the cadet then a 3822H for each condition.
Your CCF staff should then complete the 7537D which is still not a ‘fit to fly’ form, just an ID card with a few useful medical details (e.g. allergies, epipens, etc.) for general cadet activities. It also has a space for your CCF staff to certify that you gave consent for flying on the 3822A. Again, that’s consent, not medical fitness. 7537D isn’t even a requirement for flying - they can just take a copy of the 3822A with them instead to prove consent.
If they are to go flying, they do need an Av Med 1 form - that is the ‘fit to fly’ form - and depending on what answers you give to the questions on there, then the cadet might need a F6424. That’s when it can get difficult, if the GP doesn’t understand what they are being asked (which is what the rest of this thread has sidetracked onto!) or the condition requires discussion with the ‘CFMO’ (RAF medical officer) as currently the latter isn’t able to help so those conditions currently mean no flying.
Hope that helps. If in doubt, ask your CCF staff for more information; failing that send me a private message with more details and I’ll find out what’s going on.
If you have access to SMS, you don’t even need to do this, you can print a flying consent summary from the event page. Probably a better option from a data protection perspective.