Medical Assessment
You will be required to attend an appointment at our Occupational Health Unit for a medical and fitness assessment. The medical will include:
- Height
- Weight
- Blood pressure
- Blood Glucose Test (finger prick or by urine sample)
- Eye test – near and distance vision (with and without spectacles if worn)
- Hearing test (audiometry)
Additionally, you will be asked questions about your general health and any disabilities/medical needs you may have (a medical questionnaire will need to be completed prior to your attendance) An Occupational Health Technician will conduct the necessary tests. This will be followed up (not necessarily straight away but on the same day) with an appointment with the Occupational Health Physician who will review the test results, undertake any further testing (if required), and provide a medical decision on your fitness for operational duties. Please note prior to this decision (and largely dependent on your test results and clinical information you have disclosed) the physician may require your consent to liaise with any specialists or treating teams you have/or had. Alternatively, you may be referred back to your GP for further tests to be conducted on the NHS. In such cases a decision regarding your fitness will remain pending until the Occupational Health Physician has all the information needed to enable them to make a clinical informed decision.
We receive many enquiries from applicants during recruitment regarding current and/or past medical issues. Unfortunately, we cannot give definitive guidance regarding individual issues as all clinical matters require consultation with the Occupational Health Physician and GP’s/treating teams for them to decide whether an applicant is suitable to carry out the role of a Firefighter. All cases will be considered on an individual basis.
In accordance with the Data Protection Act, we do not divulge any medical information to anyone outside of occupational health without your written consent.
Eyesight standards
For your eyesight test, you will be asked to attend an appointment with your local Specsavers opticians, who will assess your vision in line with our eyesight entry standards. A form will be provided to you which the optician must complete, and you will need to send back to the Service before attendance at your occupational health physician appointment. Our eyesight entry standards are:
- Vision must be binocular
- Have a minimum uncorrected distance visual acuity of 6/18 in the better eye and 6/24 in the worse eye
- Have a corrected visual acuity of 6/9 binocularly with a minimum of 6/12 in the worse eye
- Have no more than +3.00 dioptres of hypermetropia in each eye
- Be able to read N6 at 30cm unaided with both eyes open (applicants aged 25 years and under)
- Be able to read N12 at 30cm unaided with both eyes open (applicants aged 26 years and over)
- Have a normal visual field in each eye, as determined by confrontation techniques or formal testing methods
- Have no history of night blindness or any ocular disease that is likely to progress and result in future failure of the visual standards for serving Firefighters (Control)
- Have an appropriate level of colour perception
- Have not undergone refractive surgery in the previous 12 months
Hearing standards
Applicants for firefighting who meet the H2 standard should be considered fit for role. Applicants who score lower than H2 may be required to undertake additional functional testing before a decision on fitness can be determined.
Right to work
In order to comply with the law under Section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996, we will need proof of your eligibility to work in the UK. This evidence can be in the form of a Passport or Birth Certificate along with your National Insurance Card or your most recent P45 or P60. For further information please refer to the website www.gov.uk – Right to Work in the UK.
References
References will be requested for candidates who are successful in this recruitment process and will be taken up before any formal offer of appointment can be confirmed. References must include at least two people who are willing to supply a reference for you, one must be from your current or most recent employer (or teacher). You may not use relatives as referees.
Any gaps in your employment history of more than one month will need to be explained, for example, caring and childcare responsibilities. If you are/have been self-employed you will need to provide proof. e.g., tax returns for that period.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS Standard) checks
All Fire and Rescue Service posts are now exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, as the nature of the job falls within the type of work excluded from the Act by the 1975 Exception Amendment.
All roles at Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service require a Standard Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check. A Standard Disclosure & Barring Service Check (DBS) clearance will be undertaken on successful individuals prior to confirmation of employment. You will be required to register with the DBS Update Service and maintain this registration annually.
Failure to declare a conviction or caution may disqualify you from appointment or result in summary dismissal if the discrepancy comes to light, and will be taken into consideration on our positive disclosure risk assessment process.