Health and Immunisation information for healthcare students

This page provides health and immunisation information for applicants and students on healthcare courses at the University of Birmingham. You will be expected to register with our Occupational Health service provider. Select the option for either an undergraduate course or a post graduate course (Physician Associate is postgraduate) and you will be guided through the process you need to follow.

Undergraduate courses

As stated in your conditional offer, you are expected to be immunised for personal/public protection, and you must complete the Pre-Course Health Declaration Questionnaire and Immunisation History for the University Occupational Health Provider.

Once you have registered as a student with the University, we will send some basic information to the University’s Occupational Health provider - Kays Medical, who will use your university email address to contact you and request that you complete the Pre-Course Health Declaration Questionnaire and Immunisation history. It is within your best interest to engage with this process as soon as requested.

If however, you have a concern about meeting the standards of medical fitness to train on your chosen course as outlined in the Higher Education Occupational Practitioners guidance for universities – links below: please email OH@Kaysmedical.com or call 0151 317 7392

Dental Hygiene and Therapy students, health and immunisation processes will be managed by a different occupational health provider: however, please read the guidance on Exposure Prone Procedures (EPPs) on this page. Your course administration team will advise you of your pre-admission requirements.

After completing the on-line Pre-Course Health Declaration Questionnaire, you must be assessed as satisfactory by the Occupational Health (OH) Service. Kays will only contact you if there are any concerns about your fitness to study that they need to explore, or if information is missing from your declaration.

All healthcare students are expected to be immunised for personal and/or public protection and provide relevant information on their health and immunisation status.

You can view Kays Medical's privacy policy in relation to data processing and usage in their Kays Medical ISMS Information Classification and Security Policy (PDF - 276KB) policy document. Kays hold accredited ISO 27001 certification ensuring their ability to manage personal data securely. Further information regarding Kays accreditations can be seen on their website.

Health Declaration Questionnaire

You will not be able to attend a clinical placement until Occupational Health has assessed your suitability, based on the information you have provided. This means that you will not be able to achieve the mandatory learning outcomes and will be unable to progress through your course.
You will be responsible for disclosing all requested medical information to the Occupational Health service.
Information disclosed in the Pre-Course Health Declaration Questionnaire will remain confidential to the Occupational Health service and will be used to assess your fitness for your proposed course and to advise the university of any reasonable adjustments that may be needed for medical conditions and/or disabilities.
The answers to the questionnaire will also help to ensure that your training will not place you or others’ health at risk; and will determine, in terms of fitness, if you would be able to fulfil the requirements of your regulatory body upon graduation.
You may receive a call from the Occupational Health service to explore your suitability for engagement with your chosen course.
The information you give will be stored on the dedicated Occupational Health electronic record system and will be treated in strictest confidence by the Occupational Health service in compliance with data protection law, unless explicit consent is given for further disclosure. In accordance with Data Protection Regulations, you may have access to your records at any reasonable time. If you require a copy of any part of your record, this will only be supplied upon written request.

Immunisation History Record

You should be aware that completion of Immunisation information is also a requirement when starting on your course.
Students are expected to commence a full course of Hepatitis B vaccinations. Following this, a Hepatitis B Surface Antibody blood test is also advised. Applicants should note that the complete Hepatitis B vaccination course can take up to 7 months to complete, and that non-completion may impact the ability to attend clinical placements as part of teaching. It therefore highly recommended that applicants start to receive their initial Hepatitis B vaccinations as soon as a conditional offer is received. It is recommended that all applicants start the vaccination process as soon as possible as placements can start very early at the start of your training.
In most cases a GP will not administer vaccinations prior to starting on a healthcare programme. However, vaccinations can be obtained from some travel clinics/pharmacies such as Lloyds, BUPA etc. Please check their websites for availability and to book an appointment, as not all clinics provide this service.
Your Immunisation history must be completed in the Kays Medical portal as soon as you receive the link from Kays Medical to create your account with them. Please complete all your details, even if you are still in the process of receiving your vaccinations. Your GP should be able to provide a printout of your health record to assist you with this. Please send copies of documentary evidence - do not send originals. We would strongly recommend you retain all completed forms for your own records. Your immunisation record on Kays portal is ongoing throughout your degree and additional information can be uploaded to it as you have additional immunisations.
Once you have started on your programme of study, you will be assessed by the Occupational Health service on your vaccination status, and a risk assessment for attendance on placements will be made available to your chosen course. When you are assessed, the Occupational Health practitioner will explain your vaccination options to you, and this will include opting out of receiving them as no vaccines are mandatory for healthcare workers. If you choose to do this, you will be advised of any potential risks to you and your patients, and what actions you need to take to minimise these; a report will also be provided to your programme of study.
After you have been assessed for initial suitability for placement you must continue to attend all required appointments until you have full healthcare worker clearance.
Please note that vaccination requirements may change in the future as advised by the Department for Health and Social Care, and you will be notified if this happens.

Exposure Prone Procedures (EPPs) for Dental Surgery, Dental Hygiene and Therapy and Midwifery courses

Dental Surgery, Dental Hygiene and Therapy and Midwifery students will be required to undertake EPPs as part of their programme of study and therefore screening for Hepatitis B, HIV and Hepatitis C Antibody is a mandatory requirement for the course. Occupational Health will undertake these screenings immediately after you start your course as they need to be validated with your ID (e.g. passport).

The Department of Health (DoH) defines EPPs as: “invasive procedures where there is a risk that injury to the worker may result in the exposure of the patient’s open tissues to the blood of the worker. This is described as ‘bleed-back’. These include procedures where the worker’s gloved hands may be in contact with sharp instruments, needle tips or sharp tissues (e.g. spicules of bone or teeth) inside a patient’s open body cavity, wound or confined anatomical space where the hands may not be completely visible at all times.” (Health Clearance for tuberculosis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV: New healthcare workers. Department of Health, March 2007).

The concern with EPPs is the transmission of blood-borne viruses (BBVs).

Exposure Prone Procedures (EPPs) for MBChB (Medicine)

Medical Students are offered opportunities to undertake EPPs during their clinical placements as we believe that this offers an additional valuable learning experience, undertaking EPPs is not currently a required course component however, the programme is working towards becoming a full EPP programme and so this guidance may change. It is important to note that most clinical procedures are not EPPs. Occupational Health will undertake these screenings immediately after you start your course as they need to be validated with your ID (e.g. passport).

The opportunity for performing EPPs is entirely dependent upon a student agreeing to undertake screening for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV. A student must be confirmed as BBV negative (or meet certain stringent conditions if they are found to be BBV positive) in order to be allowed to undertake EPPs.

Please note that this EPP status is additional to the standard clearance process that all applicants who are made an offer are asked to engage with at the time of admission. The standard process includes advice on vaccination for Hepatitis B. No student will be required to pay for the additional BBV screening that is necessary to acquire EPP clearance. The testing will be carried out by our Occupational Health service after you commence the course. There will be no detrimental impact upon your progression and your ability to graduate and meet the GMC Outcomes for Graduates if either you decline EPP testing or the screening for BBVs results in you being unable to undertake EPPs. After graduation if either of these circumstances applies, you may be restricted in the clinical work you are permitted to undertake.

Download the Medical Course EPP policy

Exposure Prone Procedures (EPPs) for Nursing and Pharmacy

If you are doing a Nursing or Pharmacy programme, you are not expected to be undertaking EPPs and do not require further screening.

Postgraduate courses

Completion of the pre-course questionnaire is a condition of offer, you should therefore contact Kays Medical via email at OH@Kaysmedical.com or by calling 0151 317 7392 as soon as you receive your offer, to request a link to enable you to register an account with them. You will need to provide Kays Medical with details of your programme of study, email address and telephone number.

It is within your best interest to engage with this process as soon as requested to avoid any delays in confirming your offer.

Please ensure that you are aware of the standards the standards of medical fitness to train on your chosen course as outlined in the Higher Education Occupational Practitioners guidance for universities and make sure any concerns you have are disclosed – links below:

All healthcare students are expected to be immunised for personal and/or public protection and provide relevant information on their health and immunisation status.

Pre-Course Health Declaration Questionnaire

You will not be able to attend a clinical placement until Occupational Health has assessed your suitability, based on the information you have provided. This means that you will not be able to achieve the mandatory learning outcomes and will be unable to progress through your course.
You will be responsible for disclosing all requested medical information to the Occupational Health service.
Information disclosed in the Pre-Course Health Declaration Questionnaire will remain confidential to the Occupational Health service and will be used to assess your fitness for your proposed course and to advise the university of any reasonable adjustments that may be needed for medical conditions and/or disabilities.
The answers to the questionnaire will also help to ensure that your training will not place you or others’ health at risk; and will determine, in terms of fitness, if you would be able to fulfil the requirements of your regulatory body upon graduation.
You may receive a call from the Occupational Health service to explore your suitability for engagement with your chosen course.
The information you give will be stored on the dedicated Occupational Health electronic record system and will be treated in strictest confidence by the Occupational Health service in compliance with data protection law, unless explicit consent is given for further disclosure. In accordance with Data Protection Regulations, you may have access to your records at any reasonable time. If you require a copy of any part of your record, this will only be supplied upon written request.

Immunisation History Record

You should be aware that completion of Immunisation information is also a requirement when starting on your course.
Students are expected to commence a full course of Hepatitis B vaccinations. Following this, a Hepatitis B Surface Antibody blood test is also advised. Applicants should note that the complete Hepatitis B vaccination course can take up to 7 months to complete, and that non-completion may impact the ability to attend clinical placements as part of teaching. It therefore highly recommended that applicants start to receive their initial Hepatitis B vaccinations as soon as a conditional offer is received. It is recommended that all applicants start the vaccination process as soon as possible as placements can start very early at the start of your training.
In most cases a GP will not administer vaccinations prior to starting on a healthcare programme. However, vaccinations can be obtained from some travel clinics/pharmacies such as Lloyds, BUPA etc. Please check their websites for availability and to book an appointment, as not all clinics provide this service.
Your Immunisation history must be completed in the Kays Medical portal by the required submission date shown on your offer letter. Please complete these details if you are still in the process of receiving your vaccinations. Your GP should be able to provide a printout of your health record to assist you with this. Please send copies of documentary evidence - do not send originals. We would strongly recommend you retain all completed forms for your own records. Your immunisation record on Kays portal is ongoing throughout your degree and additional information can be uploaded to it as you have additional immunisations.
Once you have started on your programme of study, you will be assessed by the Occupational Health service on your vaccination status, and a risk assessment for attendance on placements will be made available to your chosen course. When you are assessed, the Occupational Health practitioner will explain your vaccination options to you, and this will include opting out of receiving them as no vaccines are mandatory for healthcare workers. If you choose to do this, you will be advised of any potential risks to you and your patients, and what actions you need to take to minimise these; a report will also be provided to your programme of study.
After you have been assessed for initial suitability for placement you must continue to attend all required appointments until you have full healthcare worker clearance.
Please note that vaccination requirements may change in the future as advised by the Department for Health and Social Care, and you will be notified if this happens.