Blood tests before your medical

[Juliet-Echo]

I see we now have a mandatory blood test 2 weeks before our medical check. Mmmm..........!:oh:

[fliion]

There goes another day off.

Also it would be nice if the email had the professional courtesy of explaining what exactly the blood test is testing ?

Is it cholesterol / Alcohol / HIV / CDT / etc?

I see the new emphasis on 'Communication' is ...well ..,the same?

[SOPS]

And they are testing...what? And if you are on hard to get leave before?

[TwinJock]

Nothing to do with EK folks! If you want to blame anyone, blame EASA....

[despegue]

Eh , this is NOT an EASA requirement at all...

[777-200LR]

Heard it from the AME himself, EASA requires a hemoglobin check at every medical renewal and since GCAA are in regular pissing contests, they go one higher and do a full blood count.

[what_goes_up]

For once it's not a pissing contest. GCAA should become fully EASA compliant i.e. all GCAA licenses will be EASA accepted including all ratings... Inshallah :D

[anson harris]

The Haemoglobin test can be done instantly during your medical. It's been a UK CAA requirement since as long as I can remember and I've never had to have a pre-medical blood test. So I don't think blaming EASA would make sense.

[kipper the dog]

After the GermanWings suicide crash, it might be to test for anti-depressants.

Of course it would kill EK to actually give us the real reason. Increased communication my arse.

[The Guru]

Can someone explain to me how this regulatory annual requirement, that now takes a mandatory two days, cannot be rostered and needs to be performed during your days off.......:confused::confused::confused:

Meanwhile, a ground school and sim which is also a regulatory requirement, can be programmed with precision timing and requires approval from a Fleet Manager before your datum can be moved or rescheduled?? :ugh::ugh::ugh:

[despegue]

Guys,

I have an EASA Class1 and there is NO Hemoglobin test involved every renewal.
Only a diabetic test is performed with every 5 years a full blood test.

[5star]

i did have to do a blood test for my last Easa class 1 medical (here in Dubai). No idea what they were testing though...

[Chesty Morgan]

Despegue, there is a haemoglobin test every medical in the UK.

[Old King Coal]

If this new edict is indeed the case, it might be a good idea for as many as possible to immediately commence a high saturated fat diet, along with imbibing copious libations, and then, when significant numbers of Medicals get suspended and, ergo, significant numbers of aircraft get grounded, the GCAA medicos can then explain to Sheik Ahmed the reason why the wheels have come off the operation and that loads of money is therein being lost.
Veritably, GCAA, beware the law of unexpected consequences and consider carefully that there are stacks of jobs out there just now, for pilots!

[ynos]

Glad to see the they have adopted the new policy in Flight Ops of better communication..... This email didn't communicate nothing more then "hey you loosing one more day off and we won't tell you why".

Well I'm finally fed up.... My Medical renewal month is coming up and since they taking two days from me, I'll be pressing 2 for 2 if theirs.

Can't wait to leave this place.... Such a shame, used to be the best gig out there....

[CAT3A]

So I managed to fit a medical at the end of the month now I have to find another day next week for this.
EASA medical and JAR was always the same .....just hemoglobing test and takes a second and is done on the day........unless you do it in Dubai which is another case because we are special

[falconeasydriver]

Just make sure your loss of license is up to date, then let the various medicos jump through hoops for you. Trust me it works way better than getting stressed about dumb arse covering testing.

[a747jb]

This is getting to be too much. I try to keep my opinions off this forum and only state facts, but the following fact is that the statement below which is drawn word for word from an unofficial update is what really pisses me off:

"Failure to complete the steps may result in a cancellation of the appointment, a financial penalty and your removal from roster."


Why is it every email we get comes with threat? This is pure disrespect! They have now stumped so low as to threaten financial penalties! Really? This should infuriate everyone!

If you are thinking about joining, please have a good think about what type of outfit EK is. They haven't even issued us an official notification or given us an official date as to when this policy is to take effect and they are already issuing strong threats. If we produce an email with any sort of the same tone to our management, we would be immediately called to the office.

Rant over, but I for one will be writing to protest the loss of yet another day off and sending a side note explaining in the most professional way I can that threatening us is only going to make more people walk out the door. I would suggest maybe all of us send our new DSVP a memo stating such and start asking for a little respect. Who knows, he might actually surprise us, although chances are slim.:ugh:

[parabellum]

Do EK allow other AMEs from other countries to do the medical? I always had my GF medical done in London by Dr. Ian Perry. If they do allow other doctors to do the medical maybe they can do the necessary blood test too?

[kipper the dog]

No. All medicals for EK pilots have to be done in the EK clinic by EK doctors. It's all about control.

[CAT3A]

a747jb you are spot on,

Nice management style - always ending emails with a threat and shouldn't be an FCI or something more official with an effective date. It's a license issue after all

[777-200LR]

Guys are we micro-managing ourselves here? It doesn't take 2 days unless you are doing your medical towards the end of the month of expiry. As long as you have some validity left on your medical, you can do your check and the blood test on the same day, and then pick it up before/after one of your flights

[Trader]

Nope--blood test must be done before the medical so the doctor has the results.

[motley flight crue]

Is this rule from now or February?

[ironbutt57]

been this way in Bahrain for a while...go to clinic..take the blood...in 5 minutes results are ready..bring it to the doc...hemoglobin test...simple really...

[allaru]

Been sucking the blood out of us for years so what difference does it make. Only now they're literally sucking the blood out of us...I think its some sort of sick joke.

[Trader]

Testing for blood sugar and cholesteral plus a few other things. Takes a few days to get results. So it CANNOT be done the same day which is why they asked to do it 2 weeks prior the medical - to make sure the results are back.

[north flyer]

Did my physical on the 26th of December with Dr R.L., really nice lady, anyhow after the standard stuff with the nurse, met with the doc and she asked me if I had done my blood test yet, I said "no, did not know I needed one", she said "we need you to do them now, have you been fasting?"
Since it was 2pm, I had eaten, long story short, had to come back a few days later to do the blood test, wait a few days for the results and then come back again to get the medical cert.

Two things, the first is that when I scheduled the medical a week before the 26 th, the clinic sent an email saying that I had to do a blood test before the medical and a set of rules on how to fast, I did not read it, like most from the company, my fault, it is what it is.

Second thing, the blood test was the standard stuff, I am not new to reading blood test results, been in this game for awhile, nothing I could see was looking for alcohol abuse.

With all that said, you will need to go to the clinic at least two times now and make sure you do not wait till the last minute, like I did.

[Calmcavok]

Interesting comments about fasting as the latest diktat mentions it is not required.

[The Outlaw]

Lets put things into perspective before we all rant like little girls...

Please tell me which OFFICIAL and LEGAL company avenue of correspondence this actually came from? Was it an official FCI, FCN, OMA update or otherwise? or was it some fantasy email from some non-official source like " fleet facts or the month update....oooohhhh....that must be official because its in my inbox....lets not get too excited here just yet shall we?

Lets be on the mark here gents... fleet facts or monthly update are NOT mandatory reading thus carry no meaning.......MOVE ALONG NOW....NEXT!!

When it is written in an FCI or an update to the OM-A...then we'll talk.

[delorean79]

I remember the Medical Check on my selection process. Instructions said that no fasting was needed. Because of the glucose level shown in the blood test, I had to go for a special blood test to check my glucose tolerance. :ugh:

Fool me once, shame on you...

[parabellum]

If they check for triglyceride levels then they can see if they are raised, usually means you are too fat or enjoy a drink.:)