Offshore Medicals & OSA

[danricketts]

Hi Everyone,

A bit of a strange request but I was wondering if anyone knows if having OSA (even if it's under treatment with CPAP) would cause me to fail a fitness to work offshore medical (i.e. on oil/gas platforms).

I have a medical coming up and I'm starting to stress about whether or not this will be an issue (of course if they pay too much attention to my BMI they may not even get as far as my OSA!).

Failing that when I find out later this week I'll post the answer here :-)

Thanks

Dan

[James @ Intus]

According to this PDF document on this topic,

Unfit means the presence of a condition under circumstances whereby the condition would cause the person to be a safety or health hazard to him or her self or to others, where the condition cannot be controlled.

Untreated obstructive sleep apnoea would definitely be a hazard to yourself and people around you, as well as an economical and environmental risk.

However, like the DVLA's stance, once it's under control with CPAP, you shouldn't be a risk anymore. If by means of follow-ups proving your compliance you can show you have your disorder under control, I'm confident they cannot discriminate against what is in fact a disability.

In preparation, I would discuss your CPAP comlpiance/success with your prescribing physician, complete a fresh Epworth Sleepiness Scale questionnaire and have him/her put in writing your symptoms are 100% under control and you are now a normally functioning human being.

According to that PDF they will also test urine and blood so you may want to do these test in private first to see what comes up. Diabetes is common in sleep apnoea sufferers for example and they might think of that as a risk too.

The PDF also lists pulmonary funtion tests so you may want to do some deep breathing exercises or fitness to pass that one with flying colours.

The PDF doesn't explicitly mention sleep disorders as far as I can tell. But being upfront about it may well help you, especially if you have the written backing of your sleep consultant.

[danricketts]

Well,

It turns out that my OSA had no impact on the outcome of my medical, seems only thing that was an issue was a bout of depression two years back - clean bill of health next time :-)

Thanks

Dan