Director of AvMed announces resignation

[Brainy]

From an AvMed mail out today, Dr Navathe has announced his resignation.

Changing of the Guard

I have decided that it is time that AvMed is led by a different leader. As we get a new Director, it seems appropriate that we renew this area of CASA as well. Accordingly I will be moving on from CASA in the new year. More details about the arrangements of CASA AvMed are being finalised and I will provide more details in the next newsletter.



Regards,

Pooshan

Not sure what this all means for the crusade against the colour vision impaired like me, but one is feeling suddenly slightly optimistic... Perhaps the green light that Pooshan thought he had to run roughshod over us all has abruptly turned out to be a red one after all.

[Chadzat]

About time! Good riddance!

[thorn bird]

Don't bang the door on your way out.

Byee

[Tidbinbilla]

This has to be the best industry news in quite some time.

[kaz3g]

Oh good. I have to renew my medical in a few weeks and the discussions above were starting to worry me.

Kaz

[BPA]

Can he take most of the FOI's with him.

[Capt Fathom]

Can we get Rob Liddell back?

This has probably been posted before.... (http://proaviation.com.au/2014/02/23/dr-liddell-speaks-out-for-australian-pilots/)

Just so frustrating to have to suffer a regulator that is so out of touch with reality! Here's hoping.

[Aussie Bob]

Perhaps he will get a job where he actually has to see his patients in person.

Let's hope he is replaced by someone better. A nurse perhaps?

Here we have had a doctor who won't see or talk to his patients but will overrule the opinions of doctors who do.

Good riddance.

[alidad]

He might come back to haunt us from an Optus call centre.......:D

[gerry111]

Alidad,

Or perhaps from 'The technical department of Telstra'? ;)

[Angle of Attack]

First time I have heard any good news out of CASA for about......30 years?

[Manubada]

No need to re apply.................can l help you pack your bags...........careful the door don't slap you on the a*s on the way out....................................


Manu"

[Keg]

Hmmm. I wonder if Ion Morrison is available? He was an awesome doc when in charge of the Medical Branch at Qantas.

[Soteria]

Good riddance Poohshan. You obviously and finally received a giant sized pineapple surgically implanted in your rectum :ok::ok:
Now, may I kindly, and selfishly, ask that those who supported Poohshan's abhorrent decision to inflict untold and unethical damage on our pilot industry - the other two members of the DAS trio, Ferret-a-day, LSD and others also be given their marching orders. The farcical CVD issue was a huge decision and unleashed on industry after many internal high ranking executives jointly agreed to the decision. The pineappling of Poohshan should be just the starting point in this issue. More blood should yet be spilled.

I am guessing there was some really sound financial litigation heading towards the Miniscules lap, it's the only time these pathetic Government parasites act is when they are going to be relieved of some serious money.

[C206driver]

Let us all take a moment........ to rejoice!
Good bye & good riddance PN you arrogant, dispicable associate whatever it was you claim to be.

From the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of all other pilots you grounded to satisfy your own ego, may you choke on your cornflakes in peace.

Ladies and Gents who could be next???

[Clare Prop]

My letter about CVD, which I thought stood for Cardiovascular Disease, went straight in the bin. Good riddance.

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

I wonder IF we will ever get back to the situation where the 'Designated' APPROVED Medical Examiner - Doctor - will be able to submit his opinion that we, the great unwashed, are actually 'fit to fly'...????

And 'We' are issued with the medical certificate, unhindered...???

"To dream or not to dream, that is the question......"
(Apols to Young Bill....)

Cheers:ok::ok:

[outofwhack]

Best news I've heard in ages! Let's hope Fereday and Joe Rule are next!

[windforce]

something tells me he's been pushed to go... and i wonder if this latest CVD court case was THE nail in the coffin for him.

wf

[Anomaly0]

This is great! I hope people the world over see what's happening here. CVDPA - money well spent!

(I have to take my FAA Light Gun, Operational Color Test / Medical Flight Test in the coming months to get my Waiver.. Hope I pass this "color naming test" which has nothing to do with flying.. but at least it's not the CAD.)

[John Eacott]

Having just had my third annual since the blood sugar level criteria was changed for no justifiable reason, I can't say that I'm disappointed to see such a divisive PMO leave the CASA.

However the issue remains that we are left with the results of his time in the chair and no certainty that things will return to the way that they were.

For those not caught up with the blood sugar level change, the criteria was dropped from 6.0 to 5.5 and those above are required to take a glucose tolerance test. The 'justification' is the recommendation of the Australian Diabetes Association who recommend a GTT once every three years for those with >5.5 and who are considered high risk health category. Not annually for otherwise healthy pilots! :ugh:

[swh]

Did it arrive by email, and you ended your own printer ?

[Kharon]

Yeah and your Mother – Syonara.

Exeunt stage left - Pony Pooh Sham-bollocks, the man who would be king.

NEXT! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lN4TSslz-0)

[Plastic fantastic]

Come on fellas, he was doing a great job.
Did my medical examination early in July and just got my Certificate in the mail 2 days ago.
Just shy of 4 months.
Must be one of the lucky last to have his signature( autograph really).

[Pinky the pilot]

Kharon said it for me!:ok:

NEXT!

[Flightdeckone]

I normally sit in the background and read a lot, but this has compelled me to say....Good riddance to bad rubbish....
I like the extract from post #1, "I have decided that it is time that AvMed is led by a different leader".... maybe it was a sweet pineapple:D
Cheers

[Pontius]

I have had no dealings with the bloke and have never had to endure any crap from the CASA medical department but I am astounded at the cost and (therefore) the inefficiency of this man's domain. If he was any sort of 'leader' he should have sorted it out and clearly this has not been the case.

Just recently I carried out a Class 1 medical in the UK. This included an ECG, proper hearing test conducted in one of those quiet fridge-like things and a mini blood test. I walked out of the doc's office with the Class 1 certificate in my hand, signed there and then by the AME. It cost me the equivalent of AU$370, including all the tests. A couple of weeks later I paid AU$375 for a CASA Class 2 medical, that consisted of a chat with the doc and the longest series of 'no' answers I have ever given, with no tests apart from a dipstick in my wee but, of course, the obligatory $75 fee to CASA. The doc had to scan the medical form to CASA and then I had to wait 3 weeks (I consider myself lucky) to get an email back from them so I could print off my own certificate. $75 to administer something that does not need to be administered by CASA.

My doc is a CASA approved AME. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever that CASA has to be involved in the issuing of my certificate and, therefore, there is absolutely no reason why they should charge me $75 for the 'privilege' of them doing so. My AME's report can (and should) instantly update CASA's database, so they know I'm in date if they need to check but, apart from that it need involve none of this bureaucratic nonsense. The monolithic department, ruled by 'leaders' such as this outgoing incumbent, needs a damn good kick up the arse and to fall in with the modern world. It does not cost $75 to send me an email :mad:

[triton140]

As one of Pooshan's victims, I say good riddance. :D:D Just to see his pathetic performances before Senate committees and the AAT makes you wonder how he hung onto the job for so long.

Unfortunately, I don't hold out much hope that his past rulings will be overturned so his victims will continue to suffer.


There is absolutely no reason whatsoever that CASA has to be involved in the issuing of my certificate

Absolutely - why would anyone think a bunch of deskbound medicos could make a better decision than the DAME sitting in front of you (someone who actually practises medicine rather than pushing paper) is beyond me. :ugh::ugh:

[Weekend_Warrior]

Feel lucky you don't have a NZ CAA medical. They charge $300.00 to administer a medical, and they don't even issue the bit of paper for that. The DME does that. At least it is done promptly.

A class 2 now costs the thick end of $600. More for a class 1 which some of my "elderly" friends need every 6 months.

Apparently over 1,000 CPL holders have not renewed their tickets.

R.I.P. N.Z. G.A.

Sorry for thread drift.

[brissypilot]

CASA's principal medical officer to step down | Australian Aviation (http://australianaviation.com.au/2014/11/casas-principal-medical-officer-to-step-down/)

The head of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s (CASA) Office of Aviation Medicine (AvMed) says he will step down in 2015.

Pooshan Navathe, who has been CASA’s principal medical officer since March 2008, says the appointment of Mark Skidmore as the new director of aviation safety represented an opportunity for change.

“I have decided that it is time that AvMed is led by a different leader,” Dr Navathe said in CASA’s Designated Aviation Medical Examiner November newsletter.

“As we get a new director, it seems appropriate that we renew this area of CASA as well.

“Accordingly I will be moving on from CASA in the new year.

“More details about the arrangements of CASA AvMed are being finalised and I will provide more details in the next newsletter.”

As CASA’s principal medical officer, Dr Navathe and his team were responsible for, among other things, the standards and policies regarding medical certification for pilots.

This included the recent move to change standards for colour vision deficiency (CVD), which has angered many pilots who have been flying with some form of CVD for many years but now faced the prospect of being grounded under new regulations.

In June, the Virgin Independent Pilots Association (VIPA) condemned the new rules relating to colour vision deficiency (CVD), saying they discriminated against pilots working in Australia’s major airlines and failed to deliver any better safety outcomes.

“Whilst VIPA always recognises that aviation safety remains paramount, we condemn CASA’s new procedures relating to CVD pilots,” VIPA executive director Simon O’Hara said on June 19.

“The fact is, there are hundreds of commercial pilots with CVD who have passed check and line training requirements and subsequently have thousands of hours flying without incident, who will be impacted by these restrictive practices.”

And on the broader question of CASA’s medical testing regulations, former CASA director of aviation medicine Robert Liddell said he regularly met pilots who were “totally confused and despondent at their medical certification by CASA aviation medicine”.

“The dangerous result of CASA’s draconian regulatory measures is that now many pilots tell CASA as little as possible about any medical problems in order to protect themselves from expensive and repetitive investigations or possible loss of certification,” Dr Liddell wrote in a submission to the Aviation Regulatory Safety Review.

In addition to his role at CASA, Dr Navathe was also an adjunct associate professor at the ANU’s college of medicine, biology and environment.

The issue of CASA’s treatment of colour deficiency was featured in the August edition of Australian Aviation magazine.

:ok:

[Creampuff]

As CASA’s principal medical officer, Dr Navathe and his team were responsible for, among other things, the standards and policies regarding medical certification for pilots.Let me fix that for you, CASA:

CASA’s principal medical officer and his or her team are responsible for, among other things, administering and complying with Australian law and policy, made by their adult supervisors, regarding medical certification for pilots. :ok:

[Up-into-the-air]

I posted in another section (http://www.pprune.org/pacific-general-aviation-questions/473082-casa-economic-control-aircraft-industry-2.html#post7544128) and will update later today the information that has been recently published. (http://vocasupport.com/pilot-numbers-continue-to-fall-is-the-new-das-going-to-act/)

That there has been a loss of the PMO is good, as the negative effect can actually be seen here. I have been raising the same issue for the past three years.


Further pineapples may be required for issuance to the other staff who have been the PMO's network.

[Howard Hughes]

A new director, new regulations, a perfect opportunity for renewed focus within the Avmed department. Perhaps they could start by getting in step with the rest of the medical community and bringing themselves into the 21st Century!! :ok:

[Scion]

Do you think he resigned or was he pushed to resign.?

[ramble on]

Anybody who was responsible for introducing that idiotic 8 page medical renewal form should have been gone a long time ago. It was/is the bane of any AME I visit.

Two down, a few more more to go.

Go Skates!

[Up-into-the-air]

Maybe 198 more would be more like it!!

[atilladehun]

Don't clap and cheer too soon.you never know how how nasty the next announcement might be!

[500 stable]

Fantastic news,the last two Class 1 medical renewals returned to the DAME,because they had omitted ONE question,tick in the box,thanks to the lengthy paper trail process bought about by that man.


Hopefully returns to the motherland driving a taxi,a worthy position for a man of his stature,ability,unfortunately i know this will not be the case.

[flywatcher]

and what has been the cost for the aviation industry?
I posted in another section (http://www.pprune.org/pacific-general-aviation-questions/473082-casa-economic-control-aircraft-industry-2.html#post7544128) and will update later today the information that has been recently published. (http://vocasupport.com/pilot-numbers-continue-to-fall-is-the-new-das-going-to-act/)

That there has been a loss of the PMO is good, as the negative effect can actually be seen here. I have been raising the same issue for the past three years.


Further pineapples may be required for issuance to the other staff who have been the PMO's network.

After reading the article posted by "up in the air" I would think that the number of fails in class 2 is artificially low. There have been many, many class 2 medical holder who have received a letter from av med setting out long lists of medical requirement regarding specialists, basically setting a level which is unaffordable and unattainable. The holders of the medical just do not bother applying for a renewal but give aviation away. If these numbers were added to the fails I think the number could be as many as ten times higher.

[Up-into-the-air]

In fact, to compare 2006 and 2014, the following applies:
http://vocasupport.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/casa-pilot-Numbers.jpg

[Clare Prop]

I blame the KPI mentality.

Presumably there had to be something "measurable" eg increase the cost of average class two medical by x%, provide enough discouragement to industry to reduce the number of current medical holders by x%, demand a specialist do x more tests after sending the first lot of results through etc. :ugh::ugh:

[Pinky the pilot]

Fellow Ppruners/Pilots,
Over the years of being as member of this site I have gained the impression that whilst they do not openly participate in debate on these boards, that CASA and its various departments do read and monitor these pages.
Which gives me to ask the following question;

Note to CASA. Given the level of dissatisfaction and really outright hostility expressed in some of the posts here; Has it finally sunk in that you are held in deep suspicion, contempt and viewed as being an 'enemy' to pilots in general, and if indeed it has finally sunk in, just what do you intend to do to restore the faith and good will that 'once upon a time*' did exist!

*Yes, it did, years ago I believe.:confused:

[thorn bird]

Pinky,

They could start by giving Justice to John Quadrio.

By that I mean, prosecute and jail, as an example to the others, those responsible for the perversion of justice perpetrated on John.

[Up-into-the-air]

Yes the Quadrio matter should be at the top of the heap. Now six years since the alleged occurrence and a run-away investigator, who didn't even look at the weather on the day to see if it co-incided with the actual day alleged.

And the use of the known criminal as a witness??

casa, this is not going away.

This is relevant to the thread, as there is a current AAT hearing on the matter and I was trying to draw an analogy to how casa in fact prosecutes the matters. Obviously it is serious, as Harvey was brought out in the casa prosecutorial field.

When you read/ hear the evidence as it unfolded and perhaps, the reason for the resignation - see the evidence presented?? and the previous cases which were brought by casa on an avmed basis, challenged in the AAT, then lost by casa.

[Tidbinbilla]

Please post in the appropriate thread. This is Avmed 😊

[Sunfish]

The number of "renew by CASA only" medical certificates is subject to mathematical computation.

Simply take the total number of Avmed operational staff, multiply be tthe number of "difficult - renew by CASA only" certificates they would like to handle in one day, multiply that by days worked per year and voila! you have the desired number to provide jobs for life.

[Fantome]

spot on there Sunny . . .. devotee of Yes Minister that you were/are


the call to find Rob Liddell and lure him back is pure wishful thinking

if the new incumbent is from the existing ranks ( DF springs to mind )

then we will be one step forward two steps back

-----------------------------------------


pause for light relief . ..

. .. the old square dance caller . . . . first lady forward . . . .
second lady back . . third lady's finger. .. . up the fourth lady's crack

[Con Catenator]

Good riddance - the previous comments are spot on though. Just hope PN hasn't set in chain an irreversible path back to the dark ages.

[parabellum]

Unfortunately it is possible that the incumbent will have a say in his replacement, unless this is a real clear out, instigated from above, you may be in for more of the same! If it is a clear out then deputies will possibly follow quite soon.


What might help the pilot cause is if the AMEs, as a body, made representation to CASA, but given the level if dissatisfaction already expressed here it is hard to believe that the AMEs haven't already done that.

[sprocket check]

At my renewal, the DAME's words were to the effect:

CASA bureaucracy makes the french and the africans look exceedingly well organised and efficient.

Whether she would have written to CASA...

[Clare Prop]

Pilot in today for a flight review, told how he did medical, DAME signed him off then CASA wouldn't renew it, sent him off to a cardiologist who told him, for a few hundred bucks, that there was nothing wrong with him and no reason for him to be there. :ugh::ugh:

[mikemo]

have spent almost 6 mths trying to persuade these dunderheads that I can hold a class 2 medical after my Dame & cardiac surgeon gave me a clean bill of health. Having had a stress test , an unnecessary angiogram & a heart wall scan, with no symptoms , these people put me through 6 moths of delaying tactics, complex case meetings & a further stress echo test ( showing no change since my last test in the early 90's) they finally had no case to pursue so today I was issued with a class 2 unrestricted medical. in spite of this Indian doctor & his name is on my certificate! Good riddance to this sort of arrogant public service nonsense, its killing the industry so to all pilot's out there ,don't give up! Fight the bastards