Medical Referees are given access to a closed Diving Medicine Forum where advice can be sought from other referees and complex cases discussed.
Before any case discussions are presented to the Forum, you must have written consent from the diver that they are in agreement with their case being presented. This is because the complex and unique nature of the medical cases can sometimes make the diver identifiable. A consent form is available at the bottom of this page (also available in the “Downloads” section) for you to use. You must retain these consent forms in line with national guidance as you would any part of the diver’s medical record. Please do not post the consent forms on the forum or send them to the committee.
We request that when posting cases or discussions, you first of all state you have gained written consent from the diver. Please remember that the Forum is a professional site and any responses may become part of the diver’s medical record. Inappropriate or offensive posts will be removed. When posting a new case, please start a new discussion heading rather than adding it to an existing thread.
The minimum information new cases should include: 1) Age and sex of diver/potential diver (indicate if new to diving) 2) Type of diving to be undertaken, diving qualification, how long they have been diving and total number of dives 3) History of problem 4) Other relevant history and/or medication 5) Relevant examination/investigations or information from diver’s own physician or specialist 6) The specific question(s) or concerns you wish the forum to address
It would be useful (where relevant) to feedback to the forum any outcome for educational purposes.
The professional forum can be found here (you will need to have been given access to it):
https://groups.google.com/forum/
