Commission Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011Show full title

SECTION 1 U.K. General

MED.A.001 Competent authority U.K.

For the purpose of this Part, the competent authority shall be:

(a)

for aero-medical centres (AeMC):

(1)

the authority designated by the Member State where the AeMC has its principal place of business;

(2)

where the AeMC is located in a third country, the Agency;

(b)

for aero-medical examiners (AME):

(1)

the authority designated by the Member State where the AMEs have their principal place of practice;

(2)

if the principal place of practice of an AME is located in a third country, the authority designated by the Member State to which the AME applies for the issue of the AME certificate;

(c)

for general medical practitioners (GMP), the authority designated by the Member State to which the GMP notifies his/her activity;

(d)

for occupational health medical practitioners (OHMP) assessing the medical fitness of cabin crew, the authority designated by the Member State to which the OHMP notifies his/her activity.

MED.A.005 Scope U.K.

This Part establishes the requirements for:

(a)

the issue, validity, revalidation and renewal of the medical certificate required for exercising the privileges of a pilot licence or of a student pilot;

(b)

the medical fitness of cabin crew;

(c)

the certification of AMEs; and

(d)

the qualification of GMPs and of occupational health medical practitioners (OHMP).

MED.A.010 Definitions U.K.

For the purpose of this Part, the following definitions apply:

• ‘Accredited medical conclusion’ means the conclusion reached by one or more medical experts acceptable to the licensing authority, on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria, for the purposes of the case concerned, in consultation with flight operations or other experts as necessary,

• ‘Assessment’ means the conclusion on the medical fitness of a person based on the evaluation of the person’s medical history and/or aero-medical examinations as required in this Part and further examinations as necessary, and/or medical tests such as, but not limited to, ECG, blood pressure measurement, blood testing, X-ray,

• ‘Colour safe’ means the ability of an applicant to readily distinguish the colours used in air navigation and correctly identify aviation coloured lights,

• ‘Eye specialist’ means an ophthalmologist or a vision care specialist qualified in optometry and trained to recognise pathological conditions,

• ‘Examination’ means an inspection, palpation, percussion, auscultation or other means of investigation especially for diagnosing disease,

• ‘Investigation’ means the assessment of a suspected pathological condition of an applicant by means of examinations and tests in order to verify the presence or absence of a medical condition,

• ‘Licensing authority’ means the competent authority of the Member State that issued the licence, or to which a person applies for the issue of a licence, or, when a person has not yet applied for the issue of a licence, the competent authority in accordance with this Part,

• ‘Limitation’ means a condition placed on the medical certificate, licence or cabin crew medical report that shall be complied with whilst exercising the privileges of the licence, or cabin crew attestation,

• ‘Refractive error’ means the deviation from emmetropia measured in dioptres in the most ametropic meridian, measured by standard methods.

MED.A.015 Medical confidentiality U.K.

All persons involved in medical examination, assessment and certification shall ensure that medical confidentiality is respected at all times.

MED.A.020 Decrease in medical fitness U.K.

(a) Licence holders shall not exercise the privileges of their licence and related ratings or certificates at any time when they: U.K.

(1)

are aware of any decrease in their medical fitness which might render them unable to safely exercise those privileges;

(2)

take or use any prescribed or non-prescribed medication which is likely to interfere with the safe exercise of the privileges of the applicable licence;

(3)

receive any medical, surgical or other treatment that is likely to interfere with flight safety.

(b) In addition, licence holders shall, without undue delay, seek aero-medical advice when they: U.K.

(1)

have undergone a surgical operation or invasive procedure;

(2)

have commenced the regular use of any medication;

(3)

have suffered any significant personal injury involving incapacity to function as a member of the flight crew;

(4)

have been suffering from any significant illness involving incapacity to function as a member of the flight crew;

(5)

are pregnant;

(6)

have been admitted to hospital or medical clinic;

(7)

first require correcting lenses.

(c) In these cases: U.K.

(1)

holders of Class 1 and Class 2 medical certificates shall seek the advice of an AeMC or AME. The AeMC or AME shall assess the medical fitness of the licence holder and decide whether they are fit to resume the exercise of their privileges;

(2)

holders of LAPL medical certificates shall seek the advice of an AeMC or AME, or the GMP who signed the medical certificate. The AeMC, AME or GMP shall assess the medical fitness of the licence holders and decide whether they are fit to resume the exercise of their privileges.

(d) Cabin crew members shall not perform duties on an aircraft and, where applicable, shall not exercise the privileges of their cabin crew attestation when they are aware of any decrease in their medical fitness, to the extent that this condition might render them unable to discharge their safety duties and responsibilities. U.K.

(e) In addition, if in the medical conditions specified in (b)(1) to (b)(5), cabin crew members shall, without undue delay, seek the advice of an AME, AeMC, or OHMP as applicable. The AME, AeMC or OHMP shall assess the medical fitness of the cabin crew members and decide whether they are fit to resume their safety duties. U.K.

MED.A.025 Obligations of AeMC, AME, GMP and OHMP U.K.

(a) When conducting medical examinations and/or assessments, AeMC, AME, GMP and OHMP shall: U.K.

(1)

ensure that communication with the person can be established without language barriers;

(2)

make the person aware of the consequences of providing incomplete, inaccurate or false statements on their medical history.

(b) After completion of the aero-medical examinations and/or assessment, the AeMC, AME, GMP and OHMP shall: U.K.

(1)

advise the person whether fit, unfit or referred to the licensing authority, AeMC or AME as applicable;

(2)

inform the person of any limitation that may restrict flight training or the privileges of the licence, or cabin crew attestation as applicable;

(3)

if the person has been assessed as unfit, inform him/her of his/her right of a secondary review; and

(4)

in the case of applicants for a medical certificate, submit without delay a signed, or electronically authenticated, report to include the assessment result and a copy of the medical certificate to the licensing authority.

(c) AeMCs, AMEs, GMPs and OHMPs shall maintain records with details of medical examinations and assessments performed in accordance with this Part and their results in accordance with national legislation. U.K.

(d) When required for medical certification and/or oversight functions, AeMCs, AMEs, GMPs and OHMP shall submit to the medical assessor of the competent authority upon request all aero-medical records and reports, and any other relevant information. U.K.