NZ: Scuba divers health to be monitored

[SFLDiver]

Just found this ...

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411749/668883

Scuba divers health to be monitored
Feb 28, 2006

Recreational scuba divers will soon be asked to provide information about their health to prevent more deaths under the water.

The New Zealand Underwater Association has begun circulating a medical questionnaire as part of best practice guidelines.

Its head of dive safety Lynn Taylor says it is in response to coroner recommendations after several diving deaths involving pre-existing medical conditions.

She says the questionnaire will also bring overseas divers who are not required to have a medical check before gaining a certificate to their attention.

Taylor hopes the questionnaire will help stop regulation being imposed on the industry.

Source: RNZ

I, for one, would LOVE to have a copy of this questionnaire!


Found their website .... http://www.nzunderwater.org.nz/
but no questionnaire posted yet.
They say early 2006.

 

[AndyNZ]

You might not be getting the full story here - sounds like Lynn is being misquoted a little bit here.

This is a hot topic in NZ right now - get hold of the last six or so issues of Dive New Zealand for the full story.

As I understand it (having spoken to Lynn a few months ago), the Chief Coroner in NZ has contacted NZUA feeling that the number of diving fatalities in NZ (1-2 per year) is too high, and that in a number of cases in the last few years have been related to an underlying medical condition not declared in the RSTC medical form. The coroner wants legislation to control recreational diving along similar lines to occupational diving in NZ - a full medical every five years, with interim checks. The questionairre you are referring to was (I think) proposed by Des Gorman, the head of hyperbaric medicine and the Occupational Safety & Health nominated chief physician. Des "signs off" against all commercial dive medicals at the moment.

It's current an industry standard that all people undergoing scuba training must have had a diving medical in the last two years - for any level of training. What NZUA are proposing is a best practice document that complements this without legislation. I don't think that the questionairre was adopted in the end (but could be wrong, given the date on the article!). It's more down to the diving industry (LDS, instructors, charter companies) educating divers that they need to take responsibility for their own health. At least it's going to be self-regulation, not legislation!

Where things get tricky is that some of the fatalities are for visitors to our shores who do not have a regular medical and lie on the medical/liability release forms. There's virtually no way that either self-regulation or legislation will solve this.

If you're interested, you can have a look at the occupational divers questionairre that has to be filled out between medicals for professionals (commercial, military and instructorrs/DMs), which was also written by Des and would likely have been the basis for the recreational questionairre he proposed. It's available online at:

http://www.osh.dol.govt.nz/order/catalogue/913.shtml

You'll also find the commercial diving medical form on the same page - shows you what tests we have to go through just to instruct. Thankfully, the recreational medical is a little less stringent!

 

[AndyNZ]

Just checked up the details on the NZUA website - looks like a good compromise solution! The questionairre is adopted for visiting divers only (this will no doubt molify the Chief Coroner!) with an on-going education programme for local divers to maintain their own health.

 

[Haiko]

Hmmm, does this mean I have to worrie about diving in NZ? I come over in sept. do get some more knowlegde and certs. in diving. I'm in a good condition, although I do smoke ;-)

 

[Jafo123]

Come on guys! Didn't you fill out a medical questionare for the dive boats in cozumel? I did.

 

[AndyNZ]

Hmmm, does this mean I have to worrie about diving in NZ? I come over in sept. do get some more knowlegde and certs. in diving. I'm in a good condition, although I do smoke ;-)

No, it makes no difference.

If you want to do a dive course in NZ you need to have a dive medical done - they cost about $50 or so. Once you've got a certification that is NZ you would be exempt from filling out the questionairre each time you went on a charter boat.