OEUK & RenewableUK Medicals

Who needs an Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) or RenewableUK Medical?

Anyone wishing to work offshore in UK waters must have a valid OEUK medical certificate. Likewise those working in the wind farm industry must have a valid RenewableUK medical certificate.  The list of approved OEUK doctors are also recognised to perform RenewableUK medicals.

OEUK Medical application

On 1^st October 2024 Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) updated the process for offshore workers applying for medical assessment to work offshore in UK controlled territories. These medicals were formerly known as OGUK (Oil & Gas UK) offshore medicals and previously as UKOOA (UK Offshore Operators Association) medicals.

The guidelines for these medicals are published in ‘Medical Fitness for Offshore Work 7^th Edition October 2024.’

This application form contains a questionnaire  (OEUK questionnaire.pdf)  that will need to be completed and either emailed to Dr Mark Downs, or printed and brought to the assessment consultation. If you are new to working offshore then some of the questions will not be relevant and can be left blank. For those with previous or existing medical problems then full details will need to be brought to the consultation. If you are unsure about what will be needed then please contact me for clarification, as otherwise there will be a delay in issuing the fitness for offshore work certificate.

Offshore installations are categorized into either normally-unmanned or manned. Only those normally manned will have an onsite medic. If no medic is present, then higher medical standards are required and certain existing medical conditions, or medications, will not be compatible with working on these offshore installations – the fitness certification will indicate ‘UNFIT for work on normally-unmanned installations without direct operator approval.’ This means that the individual will need to obtain consent from the installation operator’s medical advisor before each mobilization. This approval may take several weeks to complete and will likely only be granted for certain named installations.

Some of the medical conditions that are likely to lead to the requirement for the operator’s approval are:

·         Previous ischaemic heart disease

·         Existing cardiac arrhythmia requiring medication

·         Previous cerebrovascular disease

·         Previous episode of anaphylaxis

·         Taking blood thinning medications (except aspirin)

·         Type 1 diabetes

Crane operators will need to provide a report from their optician about their eyesight.

Those with a BMI of 40 or more will need to provide written confirmation from their employer / agency that they can:

a)      Don and fasten standard Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approved and marine issue lifejackets over a survival suit, and

b)      Sit in a standard helicopter seat and fasten a three-point harness.

Those undertaking Emergency response team (ERT) duties will need to have a functional assessment of their fitness. This was previously done by the Chester Step Test (CST), but this will only now need to be done if the employer requires it.

A form of ‘photo identity’ (e.g. passport, driving license, Vantage card) will need to be provided at the consultation.

Preparing for the OEUK Medical – advice from the OEUK

 You will likely find the process of completing your OEUK medical simpler if you prepare for it by:

·         Taking a copy of your most recent previous OEUK medical certificate with you

·         Taking a copy of your most recent previous ‘fit to train’ certificate with you, and being aware of the date of your next FOET

·         You should have been offered a copy of the medical documentation at your OEUK medical(s) from at least 1st May 2024 onwards. If you accepted this offer and are willing to share information with the doctor undertaking your next medical, take a copy of the documentation with you.

If you have high blood pressure:

Ask your GP or treating doctor for a list of your BP readings in the past two years, what your GP’s ‘treatment target’ for your blood pressure is, and what medications (name and dose) you are prescribed (and if this has changed in the past two years).

If you have diabetes:

Ask your GP or treating doctor for a list of your HbA1c, blood pressure, and weight in the past 2 years, what your GP’s ‘treatment target’ for your HbA1c, blood pressure and weight are, and what medications (name and dose) you are prescribed (and if this has changed in the past two years).

If you have had a heart attack in the past:

Ask your GP or treating doctor for a list of your blood pressure, blood lipids (this means your ‘cholesterol’ levels – there will be several different ones) and weight in the past 2 years, what your GP’s ‘treatment target’ for your blood pressure, lipids, and weight are, and what medications (name and dose) you are prescribed (and if this has changed in the past two years).

If you are in the obese weight category:

Ask your GP or any other clinical facility that has measured your weight for a list of your weight measurements in the past two years.

Doing these things may avoid the need for the doctor to seek reports or information from your previous OEUK examining doctor, GP, or treating doctor, and will enable the examining doctor to show you how your results have changed since your last medical.

Note that you are not obliged to obtain any of this information, or to provide it to the OEUK doctor. Not having the information or not providing it will not affect the ultimate outcome of your medical, but it will slow down the decision if the OEUK doctor needs to obtain the information by writing to your GP.

Keeping copies of your medical assessments

Examining doctors are guided to offer examinees a copy of the records from their medical, and to encourage them to accept. In some locations outwith the UK, it may be common practice for non-medically-qualified employer representatives to request or receive a medical record, including medical history and test results. In the UK, this is absolutely not the case, and indeed is counter to normal medical standards of confidentiality, and data protection legislation.

When offering medical records of OEUK medicals to examinees, examining doctors should make it clear that the purpose of the offer is to make it possible for examinees to provide information from the records to a future different examining doctor, in the anticipation this may avoid needless repetition of some elements, but that a) examinees are not obliged to accept the offer and b) they do not need to tell employers that they have a copy of their record, and that they are entitled to decline any employer request to provide the record.

If you do not keep your own copy of the record, then please be aware that there may be considerable delay in your next OEUK examining doctor getting in contact with me especially if I am away on holiday.

Appeal Process

If the applicant disagrees with the approved doctor's decision then an appeal can be made to OEUK within 28 days of the original decision. Full details are available at click here

RenewableUK Medical

This medical is required for those wishing to work in the wind farm industry. It is similar to the OEUK medical but includes a physical fitness assessment usually using the Chester Step Test.