Gateways guidance: 12.1 Health checks

All medical schools make health checks on all students for the purposes of both patient and student safety. However, disability and health are different issues. A medical school will probably be acting unlawfully if, without justification, it insists on a special health check for a disabled person, but not for others. The fact that a person has an impairment or health condition is, in itself, unlikely to justify singling out that person to have a health check. On the other hand, a disabled person may be asked to undergo an assessment of their reasonable adjustment requirements, for example as part of the process of applying for Disabled Students’ Allowance, or if a condition is intermittent or deteriorating.

It is worth remembering that people with mental illness are included in the Equality Act definition of a disabled person, although people with mental illness often do not see themselves as disabled people.