Blackmailed by my local doctor's surgery

[Bobthebuilder]

Wtite a letter to your surgery saying that you hereby give your permission for your medical records to be shared with the police if they request them for the purpose of renewing your shotgun
and /or firearm certificates.

That way it's between the surgery and the police.

That is exactly what you sign on a section of the form

 

[Cowabunga]

I think the GP got the outcome they wanted and everyone ended up happy.

It is a wonder that the GP didn't charge £27 for answering that it would cost £27 for the note. A solicitor wouldn't have lost that opportunity.

 

[puppet]

Thankfully GP estimates are obviously free .
I would agree that £100 is steep but only the cost of 3 pheasants. It won't just be 2 minutes work and for the farmer who had a bout of depression there will probably be a police interview.

 

[Kidds]

Is there any update to all of this, my shotgun /firearm renewal went into the police a week ago, my doctors who I have seen three years ago for my hgv medical wrote today asking for £100

My firearms dept will not renew if you do not provide a doctors letter, (if you don't believe me just look on their website) but it does not have to be from your own doctor. You can search the internet and find someone willing to provide the letter for a much smaller fee. eg Medcert will do it for £60. Still a bloody ripoff but there you go.

 

[Netherfield]

Feck, GP's won't even take wax out of your ears without charging now.

 

[betweenthelines]

I'd rather GP's spent their time treating patients or doing/organising Covid jabs than waste time because someone wants a shotgun cert renewed.

 

[Kidds]

Have a word with the police about it then, they are the ones that made up the rule.

 

[HolzKopf]

Feck, GP's won't even take wax out of your ears without charging now.

Sorry?........

 

[HolzKopf]

I'm a BASC member and have been for nearly 50 years; from a wee lad in WAGBI days to today when BASC is much more a political animal dividing the shooting community on issues such as its support for the lead ban.

However, I've used them twice in the many years of renewals, both times when the police were under pressure staff wise. Once when my local constabulary offered me a piece of paper that was my 'legal right' to retain my firearms until my cert and licence was able to be renewed. BASC sorted that and the second time was when there was no FEO available to inspect due to illness and retirements. They earned their subscription.

BASC supports a root and branch reformation of the way firearms are licensed and are active in consultations and advice to constabularies. In many cases those now deciding whether you have the necessary ticks in the box to keep and use firearms are inexperienced. When you think about it, it's not a police officer's job to decide, nor a GP's to underwrite the bona fides of someone he or she may not have seen for years, if ever and to make a judgement on mental health - because that's what's at the root of the questions. Depression, anxiety, anti-social behaviour, abuse - the list goes on In any case, many (of us) may seek help from time to time for isolated incidents; stress, marriage break-up, bereavement, business problems etc. A one-off. A blip or a trend? Who really knows.....perhaps only us.

Firearms licensing needs reform but until it happens we have to live by the system that's in place - and a quick read of the letters in the BASC mag will tell you that there is a wide variance in how constabularies operate and perform and how GPs treat this task.
Personally I don't object to the GP practice charging. Say it's £60 for the letter. That's £12 a year or 23p a week. The ability for me to keep firearms for both work and leisure is well worth that on-cost

HK

 

[Stw88]

My firearms officer told the keeper not to pay and that it was a joke that they wanted money to tick a box about someone that they may never have seen. I didn’t pay and my certificate turned up 2 weeks later. Depends on the police force and the firearms officer i suppose.

 

[steveR]

What for? All you need to do is give permission for police to access your medical records if they need to

Which is what West Mercia do. Part of the form asks for Doctor details and a signature to allow them to speak with the Practice

Just renewed my coterminous certificates. Online was no good, as the server kept falling over, so I submitted the application (apparently 2 days late according to some bod) and after a quick email exchange with a charming lady to confirm that my daughters shotgun should be on my ticket, all processed inside 3 weeks. Excellent service indeed.

 

[snarling bee]

My GP practice are 'conscientious objectors' to firearm ownership so they refuse to do any letters for certificates.
So I have to pay another doctor to get my records and send the letter. Madness.

 

[puntabrava]

My firearms dept will not renew if you do not provide a doctors letter, (if you don't believe me just look on their website) but it does not have to be from your own doctor. You can search the internet and find someone willing to provide the letter for a much smaller fee. eg Medcert will do it for £60. Still a bloody ripoff but there you go.

I can understand an admin fee but a medical for hgv is or was £90 but they do have to spend 30 minutes with you and then fill out forms, just seems a lot of money to say we never see him.

 

[puntabrava]

My GP practice are 'conscientious objectors' to firearm ownership so they refuse to do any letters for certificates.
So I have to pay another doctor to get my records and send the letter. Madness.

As they say, there is always someone worse off than yourself, your post makes me feel better. Sorry.

 

[Kidds]

Personally I don't object to the GP practice charging. Say it's £60 for the letter. That's £12 a year or 23p a week. The ability for me to keep firearms for both work and leisure is well worth that on-cost

My objection is the doctor wanting £100 for his opinion on me being fit to have a gun. For £100 he will say it's fine but as he/she has never met me and couldn't even recognise me in the street it is a mockery. I haven't been to the doctors in decades, the last doctor I saw has long since retired.
I also object on the grounds that this requirement is not Home Office guidance this is just some extra rule that some constabularies have decided to add on.

I didn’t pay and my certificate turned up 2 weeks later. Depends on the police force and the firearms officer i suppose.

I did the same on my last renewal but they now say no letter = no ticket.

 

[Dry Rot]

My GP practice are 'conscientious objectors' to firearm ownership so they refuse to do any letters for certificates.
So I have to pay another doctor to get my records and send the letter. Madness.

They are YOUR records! You have fairly extensive rights which you will lose if you don't use them. I found this out when I needed a prostate operation. I'd sent a dog to a top Czech urologist and he said he would do my op if the NHS would pay. This was easier to arrange than I imagined, but after further research I went to Mr Gordon Muir at King's College Hospital, the top man in the country, and was number 35 on a new laser procedure. So I am pretty sure you could access your records if you try. Dealing with government departments is often a case of shouting loudly and refusing to be pushed around!

 

[puppet]

You are entitled to get a copy of your records. The other doctor will still charge for the report.
Did the urologist operate on the dog too?

 

[pembsarable]

I have just sent in my shotgun renewal. Dyfed Powys Police will not accept the application form without the signed Doctors letter / report going in with the application. Its got it all over their website now. So you have to down load the Doctors form, send it in to the surgery and then once they've filled it in, go and collect. The only way to get it from reception is to pay their fee of £50. Has to be cash or cheque as they don't have electronic means ! I then scanned it with the form and an electronic photo to DPP, paying the £49 renewal fee. At the moment, because of covid, new applications are not being accepted - renewals only.

 

[davidroberts30]

I have just sent in my shotgun renewal. Dyfed Powys Police will not accept the application form without the signed Doctors letter / report going in with the application. Its got it all over their website now. So you have to down load the Doctors form, send it in to the surgery and then once they've filled it in, go and collect. The only way to get it from reception is to pay their fee of £50. Has to be cash or cheque as they don't have electronic means ! I then scanned it with the form and an electronic photo to DPP, paying the £49 renewal fee. At the moment, because of covid, new applications are not being accepted - renewals only.

I'll have to get a scan of your letter for my renewal for a modest feecould be quite lucrative.....

 

[Pieces_of_Eight]

Is there any update to all of this, my shotgun /firearm renewal went into the police a week ago, my doctors who I have seen three years ago for my hgv medical wrote today asking for £100

Do they realise that the SGC/FAC doesn't itself cost £100 for 5 years???

I saw www.shootcert.co.uk which looks like a perfectly good loophole solution to awkward GPs and questionable police practices.