Going through the renewal process for my FAC now, and am fortunate that I have slightly over five calendar months to get to grips with the GP pro forma requirement before it expires. I am in the process of using ShootCert to obtain a medical certificate, and I am aware of the various threads posted relating to the use of a third-party GP for a GP pro forma.
Given that there could be GPs that refuse to provide the relevant medical records directly to the third-party GP, and instead only provide the applicant with a physical copy of said medical records (which I understand is entirely within their right to do so on the basis of a subject access request), has anyone had to send their medical records received from their GP (sealed and unopened) to ShootCert or any other third-party GP?
I note that ShootCert's FAQs state (ShootCert FAQs):
Given the Home Office Statutory Guidance, this seems inconsistent, but there is the possibility that the onus is on the verifying GP to satisfy himself or herself that the medical records provided are unmodified.
Grateful for any thoughts on this.
Given that there could be GPs that refuse to provide the relevant medical records directly to the third-party GP, and instead only provide the applicant with a physical copy of said medical records (which I understand is entirely within their right to do so on the basis of a subject access request), has anyone had to send their medical records received from their GP (sealed and unopened) to ShootCert or any other third-party GP?
I note that ShootCert's FAQs state (ShootCert FAQs):
The Home Office statutory guidance for Chief Officers of Police states that when our medical certificate is being provided to the Police firearms department, our doctor MUST have received the patient's medical notes direct from the GP practice and not via the applicant. This is simply to ensure that the medical notes that the verifying doctor at ShootCert receives are authentic, complete and unmodified. However, in some circumstances we can accept medical notes in your possession as long as the following is adhered to:
Hard Copy Medical Notes:
If the medical records in your possession are a hard copy, they MUST be in the GP's original sealed envelope and unopened.
If the medical records in your possession are a hard copy, they MUST be in the GP's original sealed envelope and unopened.
This is also the case for Medical 4 Firearms (Medical 4 Firearms FAQs), and having had a chat with MedCert on the telephone, MedCert would also accept medical records sent in this way.Given the Home Office Statutory Guidance, this seems inconsistent, but there is the possibility that the onus is on the verifying GP to satisfy himself or herself that the medical records provided are unmodified.
Grateful for any thoughts on this.
