# 2014-015 - Medical Treatment, Release - Medical

Case Summary

F&R Date: 2014–04–24

The grievor argued that her release date did not take into consideration the sick leave granted to her before the commencement of her retirement leave. She also contented that her release was not administered in accordance with the Career Transition Support Policy for the Severely Injured or Ill (SI/I) Canadian Forces (CF) members. In the grievor's view, given the acute medical condition she developed subsequent to the decision to medically release her, she asserts that she should have been assessed as having complex transition needs and that her military service should have been extended by three years to allow for her complex transition to resolve.

The Initial Authority (IA) denied the grievance. He explained that the grievor's retirement leave was stopped so that she could be placed on the approved sick leave and that her release date was extended accordingly. The IA also stated that the grievor's file was reviewed twice to determine whether she met the criteria of SI/I, indicating that all sources of information were taken into account during her complex transition assessment (CTA). The IA concluded that the decision was valid.

The Committee found that despite the confusion around the grievor's sick leave and release date, she ultimately did receive her sick leave and her release date was properly adjusted. With regard to her CTA, the Director Medical Policy (D Med Pol) explained to the Committee that the medical condition and treatment is only one of the factors assessed during a CTA. The D Med Pol also indicated that in the grievor's case, the CTA was not the best tool to address her situation as she required medical care, not a transition. The D Med Pol also indicated that measures were being contemplated to efficiently deal with situations like that of the grievor where an acute medical condition develops during a retirement leave period. The Committee was satisfied that the grievor's medical release was administered in accordance with the Career Transition Support Policy for SI/I CF members and concluded that her situation did not require transition needs.

The Committee recommended that the Chief of the Defence Staff deny the grievance.

CDS Decision Summary

CDS Decision Date: 2014–07–16

The Final Authority (FA) agreed with the Committee's findings and recommendation to deny the grievance. However, considering that there was some confusion surrounding the grievor's release date, the FA asked the Chief Military Personnel to review the file and to determine whether the grievor was entitled to an additional four days of annual leave.