Air Command Secretariat
Spitfire Block
Headquarters Air Command
Royal Air Force
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire
HP14 4UE
Our Ref: 2018-15968
Ashley Williams
Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
14 January 2019
Dear A Williams,
Thank you for your email of 14 December 2018 requesting the following information:
On the form titled "Medical conditions that preclude entry" which is published by the
RAF, the musculoskeletal disorders section states:
1. "Most spinal abnormalities"
2. "Most spinal operations"
I would like to find out the conditions that would be included within the disorders
stated above.
Furthermore, related to the disorders above, I would like to know the guidance given
to medical examiners when encountering an initial/entry officer medical examination
with an applicant that has corrective scoliosis surgery via vertibrate fusion but is
asymptomatic.
I am treating your correspondence as a request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
A search for the information has now been completed within the Ministry of Defence, and I
can confirm that information in scope of your request is held.
Information on the medical entry standards for joining the Royal Air Force (RAF) are
outlined in Joint Service Publication 950. Information on musculoskeletal entry standards to
the RAF, specifically relating to spinal conditions, is contained in leaflet 6-7-7 Annex K
which I have attached to this reponse.
Also attached is an extract from the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force Military Medical
Examiner Manual for guidance on musculoskeletal system examination.
If you are not satisfied with this response or wish to complain about any aspect of the
handling of your request, then you should contact me in the first instance. If informal
resolution is not possible and you are still dissatisfied then you may apply for an
independent internal review by contacting the Information Rights Compliance Team,
Ground Floor, MOD Main Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB (e-mail xxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xx).
Please note that any request for an internal review must be made within 40 working days of
the date on which the attempt to reach informal resolution has come to an end.
If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you may raise your complaint directly
to the Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of
Information Act. Please note that the Information Commissioner will not normally
investigate your case until the MOD internal review process has been completed. The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe
House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Further details of the role and powers
of the Information Commissioner can be found on the Commissioner's website at
https://ico.org.uk/.
Yours sincerely,
[Original signed]
Air Director Resources Secretariat