Director of AvMed announces resignation
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!
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!
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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).
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).
Man Bilong Balus long PNG
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Kharon said it for me!
NEXT!
NEXT!
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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
Cheers
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
Cheers
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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
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
As one of Pooshan's victims, I say good riddance. 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.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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CASA's principal medical officer to step down | Australian Aviation
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.
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.
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.
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.
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and what has been the cost for the aviation industry?
I posted in another section and will update later today the information that has been recently published.
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.
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.
Sprucegoose
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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!!
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!
Two down, a few more more to go.
Go Skates!
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Director of AVMed Resigns
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.
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.
and what has been the cost for the aviation industry?
I posted in another section and will update later today the information that has been recently published.
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.
I posted in another section and will update later today the information that has been recently published.
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.
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Just on the numbers
In fact, to compare 2006 and 2014, the following applies:
Last edited by Up-into-the-air; 6th Nov 2014 at 05:54. Reason: As promised