Hawk
20th May 2003, 14:38
(Quote) In the original set of JAR medical standards (1999) all professional pilots were required to have an extended eye examination every five years up to the age of 40 and every two years thereafter. The UK CAA were happy that its Authorised Medical Examiners (AMEs) were trained to do an appropriate eye examination at each revalidation, and therefore did not mandate extra examinations.
The JAA Medical Subcommittee has discussed new eye standards at its meetings over the last three years (see JAA Medical Subcommittee News). The result has been a relaxation of the Class 1 eye standards in some areas, but also an explicit and mandatory requirement for extended examinations. All professional pilots who have a spectacle (or contact lens) limitation on their medical certificate (VDL, VNL or VML) are required to have an extended eye examination every two years.
If you have one of these limitations on your medical certificate, at your first revalidation examination after 1st December 2003 you will need to show your AME the result of an examination by an optometrist (vision care specialist at your optician) or ophthalmologist (specialist eye doctor) undertaken within the previous 24 months (but see final paragraph if you intend to revalidate outside the UK). The CAA has produced a form which explains the exact requirements, the UK CAA extended eye examination form, which can be downloaded, or obtained from your AME. If you are due to see your vision care specialist between now and your first revalidation examination after 1st December 2003, you should take this form with you to the eye examination. If not, you will need to take along to your AME examination a copy of your most recent spectacle prescription, which must have been issued at an optometrist’s eye check-up within the 24 months prior to your first revalidation examination after 1st December 2003.
If you have a VDL, VNL or VML limitation your JAR Class 1 certificate will require a “next due” date for the extended eye examination (as currently required for the ECG and audiogram). Your AME will calculate this as two years from the date of your first revalidation examination after 1st December 2003 (not from the date of the optometrist’s examination). This may give you more than 2 years between eye exams.
We hope that this interpretation of the new requirements will not add too much of a regulatory burden, as most spectacle/contact lens wearers are recommended by their opticians to have an examination every two years. Pilots are, however, responsible for any fees incurred.
Note that these UK arrangements are not identical across all JAA states. Outside the UK, the extended eye examination is likely to require a visit to an ophthalmologist, possibly at a hospital, and completion of a different form from that used in the UK. If you expect to revalidate your medical certificate outside the UK, you will need to ask your optometrist to complete a different form, the full JAA extended eye examination form, which can be downloaded, or obtained from your AME. You should carry a copy of this completed form to show at any subsequent non-UK medical examination. (Unquote)
See site:
http://www.caa.co.uk/srg/med/default.asp?page=534
Cheers
Hawk
The JAA Medical Subcommittee has discussed new eye standards at its meetings over the last three years (see JAA Medical Subcommittee News). The result has been a relaxation of the Class 1 eye standards in some areas, but also an explicit and mandatory requirement for extended examinations. All professional pilots who have a spectacle (or contact lens) limitation on their medical certificate (VDL, VNL or VML) are required to have an extended eye examination every two years.
If you have one of these limitations on your medical certificate, at your first revalidation examination after 1st December 2003 you will need to show your AME the result of an examination by an optometrist (vision care specialist at your optician) or ophthalmologist (specialist eye doctor) undertaken within the previous 24 months (but see final paragraph if you intend to revalidate outside the UK). The CAA has produced a form which explains the exact requirements, the UK CAA extended eye examination form, which can be downloaded, or obtained from your AME. If you are due to see your vision care specialist between now and your first revalidation examination after 1st December 2003, you should take this form with you to the eye examination. If not, you will need to take along to your AME examination a copy of your most recent spectacle prescription, which must have been issued at an optometrist’s eye check-up within the 24 months prior to your first revalidation examination after 1st December 2003.
If you have a VDL, VNL or VML limitation your JAR Class 1 certificate will require a “next due” date for the extended eye examination (as currently required for the ECG and audiogram). Your AME will calculate this as two years from the date of your first revalidation examination after 1st December 2003 (not from the date of the optometrist’s examination). This may give you more than 2 years between eye exams.
We hope that this interpretation of the new requirements will not add too much of a regulatory burden, as most spectacle/contact lens wearers are recommended by their opticians to have an examination every two years. Pilots are, however, responsible for any fees incurred.
Note that these UK arrangements are not identical across all JAA states. Outside the UK, the extended eye examination is likely to require a visit to an ophthalmologist, possibly at a hospital, and completion of a different form from that used in the UK. If you expect to revalidate your medical certificate outside the UK, you will need to ask your optometrist to complete a different form, the full JAA extended eye examination form, which can be downloaded, or obtained from your AME. You should carry a copy of this completed form to show at any subsequent non-UK medical examination. (Unquote)
See site:
http://www.caa.co.uk/srg/med/default.asp?page=534
Cheers
Hawk