Any potential employee must undergo a PTS Medical and a Drug and Alcohol Test before attending a “Personal Track Safety” course.
When you embark on your chosen rail career, you will be issued with a Sentinel smartcard once you successfully complete either a assessment or a course, which links you to your account on the NetworkRail online database – which is known as Sentinel – which holds details of the holders’ PTS Medical, Drug & Alcohol status and any assessments and training courses that have been successfully completed.
The medical assessment for these certificates must be undertaken by an accredited medical provider, such as Tec Medicals authorised by RISQS under the authority of Network Rail.
Tec Medicals are registered appropriately and regular audits are undertaken to ensure that we meet the quality control levels for the specific standards of performance and training needed to reliably undertake the medical assessments.
In order to complete any training on the railway, delegates have to be registered on the sentinel system, the Sentinel system operates online and records all the railway training events / Medical and competencies that you will eventually hold. Once you have the sentinel number you will be able to book the Network Rail Pre Employment Drugs and Alcohol & Medical screening, this is a mandatory requirement for the Personal Track Safety (Network Rail Standard NR/L2/OHS/00124 Competence Specific Fitness Medical Requirements)
Results can take up to 3 days to come through, and longer if there are any contraindications. Positive samples will lead to a 5-year suspension, notified on your Sentinel profile.
There are no longer any paper based medical certificates issued. Everything now is uploaded onto Sentinel. You must have a sentinel profile in order for your results to be issued. For more information please call 0208 611 2512.
If less than 14 days notice is given of a cancellation of a booking, part of a booking, or a candidate fails to attend at the appointed time and place or fails to bring with them specified photographic identification or such documentation and/or information as is required for their test or examination then the full fee will be charged. If a booking is made within 14 days of the appointment, the booking cannot be rescheduled or refundable. Same day bookings will be charged in advance of attendance and cannot be cancelled or rescheduled. Candidates must ensure that they can attend their scheduled appointment before finalising their booking. Appointments that are rescheduled on the day of the appointment will incur the full fee of the appointment.