Gateways to the Professions

12. Student induction and support

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 DDA definition of a disabled person, although people with mental illness often do not see themselves as disabled people.