Letters from GPs.

[7daysinaweek]

I think someone is missing a good income here!

My doc has never met me, the one before that never met me, I'm not sure that MY doctor has ever met me.

So the only way they could give an opinion as to weather I am fit to hold a fac is by looking at my records so any Dr anywhere in the country could do the same, If a Dr was to set up just doing sgc and fac forms charge each person £20 to fill in the initial form they would make a killing and we would all save money

 

I wish it was that simple BJ

i spend a considerable amount of time reviewing medical records when i see new patients, could literally take hours upon hours to get through all of the medical information information held in one section of the case note. Before even considering this there is no central held nhs or private database that holds every patients full record record at present. Many services within the health service and private providers have no data sharing agreement with one another and there is no legal obligation for them to provide a comprehensive patient history case note.

 

 

One individual may have several sets of electronic and paper notes, hospital notes both electronic and paper, gp electronic and paper, community physiotherapist, matrons, community mental health services and a load of others.

 

There is the national summary care record which does allow for sharing of some medical data that can be accessed by hospitals and gps in an emergency for urgent treatment under the data protection act. Say you are a 100 mile from home and you were admitted to hospital, they can access this data but at present only holds very limited data on high risk conditions such as allergies, co morbidities etc and rarely does it contain detailed information about the individual. At present about 55 million people in the uk have a scr and the nhs is aiming for full population inclusion by 2020.

 

This also raises another issue, when the scr was introduced automatic inclusion was implemented and if you did not wish to have your data recorded on the record you could opt out by writing to your gp though it was not greatly publicised. Also you can consent to having a scr but can also choose to have certain medical data not recorded within it in most circumstances. There are a few exceptions when a patient does not consent to having information shared and can be overridden. One of these is that by not sharing this information there would be a risk to the public/society. Another is if an individual does not have capacity to consent to information being shared so the information is still provided acting in the patients best interest as it may help in the treatment or safeguarding of the individual throughout their lifetime.

 

Every individual in society is deemed to have mental capacity until deemed otherwise. Many millions of individuals within society with a clinical history of mental health have capacity until deemed otherwise and can legally refuse consent to certain information being shared.

 

Hope this helps

 

atb

7diaw

Edited October 21, 2017 by 7daysinaweek

[TIGHTCHOKE]

It is interesting to know that;

 

"Millions of individuals with a clinical history of mental health have capacity until deemed otherwise so could still refuse consent to certain information being shared."

 

Until this craziness is sorted out, most of us are presumed to be mentally healthy, so no need for this **** covering exercise.

[7daysinaweek]

it is certainly exasperating tt.

 

atb

7diaw

[Squinting shot]

No it's out of hand. I won't be looking forward to my renewal at this rate.

 

 

 

dont think thats right.

[Gee.]

Did my co-term renewal last month (Gwent).

 

I received a letter from my GP demanding payment in order to provide the police with my medical info....this was received a week AFTER my home visit in which my FEO stated there was no problems and I would be receiving my certs shortly.

 

The letter I received was dated 3 weeks/21 days to the day when I opened it.

 

I threw it in the bin and ignored it. Certs arrived the following week.

[Wb123]

I think someone is missing a good income here!

My doc has never met me, the one before that never met me, I'm not sure that MY doctor has ever met me.

So the only way they could give an opinion as to weather I am fit to hold a fac is by looking at my records so any Dr anywhere in the country could do the same, If a Dr was to set up just doing sgc and fac forms charge each person £20 to fill in the initial form they would make a killing and we would all save money

 

I looked into doing just that but couldnt find a way to make it sufficiently profitable for under £60 a form. Access to records and indemnity were the big issues, and even if covered Scotland would be the only market which didnt seem likely to produce enough people prepared to spend enough money and time arranging records transfer for it to be worthwhile. If it went uk wide i would look at it again.

 

In short the doctors letters are an attempt to set your gp up as the fall guy, the insurers dont want the work, doctors dont want the work, and if i were a gp i suspect i would be using the conscientious ojbector opt out or charging like a wounded rhino.

 

Refusing to pay and the police taking no response as no problems still dumps a good chunk of the medicolegal risk for no reward, why anyone expects gps to accept this state of affairs i dont understand.

[David BASC]

BASC are doing something about it, look on our website

David

[sako751sg]

I grumbled about £35 but i pity those in Peebles.

 

They are getting shafted for £200 for the letter.

[bluesj]

Cheers for the replies 7diaw and wb123, Interesting to get a view from the other side

[Scully]

In the latest CA email they have recently taken to task a medical authority ( I cant name it as Ive inadvertently deleted the email! ) for demanding money from an applicant and the medical authority has backed down. Something along those lines anyhow.

Perhaps Charlie T could post the email link for the forum.

[Bazooka Joe]

Is this the one Scully..

 

http://www.countryside-alliance.org/new-firearms-licensing-medical-procedure-fails-extraordinary-letter-local-medical-committee/?utm_campaign=185195_Newsletter%20201017&utm_medium=dotmailer&utm_source=Countryside%20Alliance&dm_i=44G9,3YWB,1MIVH9,FFKP,1

[Scully]

Is this the one Scully..

 

http://www.countryside-alliance.org/new-firearms-licensing-medical-procedure-fails-extraordinary-letter-local-medical-committee/?utm_campaign=185195_Newsletter%20201017&utm_medium=dotmailer&utm_source=Countryside%20Alliance&dm_i=44G9,3YWB,1MIVH9,FFKP,1

Certainly looks like it; many thanks Bazooka Joe; youre a star! 👍 Edited October 22, 2017 by Scully

[CharlieT]

In the latest CA email they have recently taken to task a medical authority ( I cant name it as Ive inadvertently deleted the email! ) for demanding money from an applicant and the medical authority has backed down. Something along those lines anyhow.

Perhaps Charlie T could post the email link for the forum.

 

Like you my delete button got carried away but I see that BJ has come to the rescue !!

[novice cushie shooter]

At least they sign it dave. Mine in Bonnyrigg dont sign them at all so having to go private.

 

I grumbled about £35 but i pity those in Peebles.

 

They are getting shafted for £200 for the letter.

[CharlieT]

Latest positive action from the Countryside Alliance..................

 

Countryside Alliance > Latest News > Campaigns > Shooting > New firearms licensing medical procedure fails again

Countryside Alliance Chief Executive Tim Bonner writes:

Mental health is the single most sensitive issue in gun ownership. A significant proportion of us will suffer from mental health problems during our adult lives and, sadly, some of the very small number of offences committed by licensed gun owners are carried out by those who have such problems.

From Government to gun owners there is agreement that the licensing system should not permanently exclude anyone suffering from mental health problems, as that would be a huge disincentive for gun owners, especially those whose jobs rely on the use of firearms, from seeking help. On the other hand, we are also all in agreement that there needs to be an ability for doctors to raise concerns about mental health to protect gun owners themselves, and the wider public.

After years of painstaking work through the Home Office Medical Evidence Working Group (MEWG) a new system of checks and ‘medical markers’ came into force in April 2016. The GPs of applicants for gun licences, and of existing owners who are renewing, would be asked if the patient had any history of health problems that might cause concern, and then add an encoded ‘marker’ to the gun owners medical records so that any future issues could be raised with the police firearms licensing department.

The MEWG, which included representatives from the British Medical Association (BMA), agreed that GPs would respond without charge to the initial yes/ no request for information, and add the all-important ‘marker’. It was also agreed that any subsequent requests from the police for detailed information might well incur a cost to the applicant.

Subsequently, however, the BMA has reneged on the agreement reached in the MEWG and nullified much of the potential improvement in the system that we were all working towards. It has refused to back up the agreement and advise GPs to make the initial response to licensing queries and add medical markers free of charge. This has led to some applicants being asked to pay from £30 – £200. Worse, it has advised GPs to claim a ‘conscientious objection’ to gun ownership if they do not want to respond to police enquiries. We have even seen examples of GPs threatening to tell the police that applicants ‘might have’ medical problems which might exclude them from gun ownership if a fee is not paid. This is, frankly, extortion.

The safety net for gun owners that was negotiated into the system was that the failure of a GP to respond to an initial inquiry would not mean that a license would not be issued. So those applicants who refuse to pay whatever fee a GP is attempting to raise, or whose GP refuses to respond on ‘conscientious’ grounds, will still be issued with a license. The police will, however, not know whether there are underlying mental health problems and worse, the BMA is advising GPs not to add medical markers to applicants records so that future episodes of serious mental health problems will not be reported to the police.

We believe that the behaviour of the BMA is irresponsible and is putting improvements to public safety at risk, so in a meeting with a Home Office Minister this week I asked for the MEWG to be reconvened to bring the BMA back to the table. These are crucial changes to the firearms licensing system which have the backing of Government and the support of gun owners. It is desperately sad that improvements to the licensing system that could save lives are currently being compromised by the BMA.

Tim Bonner
Chief Executive

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Let's hope that these supposedly intelligent people get a grip and do not de-rail some possible improvements to a moderately solid system (depending where you live).

[ditchman]

There was a 10 page thread on this a while ago..............read it and sort yourself out..............you lot are your own worst enermy........or is it enema..

[HW95J]

I applied last year and had a 3 month turn-around. No communication from GP etc and certainly no charges. A few months later a family member applies in a different area of Scotland was charged £50, had to take a police letter with them in person to the practice as well.

I was actually very pleased with the efficiency of the whole process for me, compared to that and the experience of others.

However....I received a letter this week from my GP practice letting me know that they were doing the checks because of my firearms/shotgun renewal.....?

No money asked for, also said to be aware that there is a coded reminder on record etc etc as we're already familiar with by now. Purely informative.

My cert had been granted after this measure was introduced.

 

I certainly haven't put in for a renewal, my certificate being just over a year old, so no idea what that was about.

 

However, they wanted no cash and I have my ticket so no need to look into it really