Just out of interest, was your decision to run with Medcert based on cost; much cheaper than your GP, or out of a belief they would be more efficient and prompt in returning the completed form?
K
MedCert
- Thread starter Shooterman1
- Start date
K
Decision based on unhelpful GP.
Whitefront
Well-Known Member
deleted
You’re not the only one to think that, mate, I think the system carries some fundamental flaws.
It’s essentially an arse covering exercise where the police (the licensing authority) have 'relocated' some of their responsibility to health professionals.
Your GP is your primary healthcare professional and ALL matters concerning your health, whether that's physical or mental (inc psychological (mental and psychological are not the same thing)) go in and out of him/her. If you need a specialist, your GP refers you.
There are problems arising from that because unless a GP has specialist training, most of them are not qualified to comment particularly in mental and/or psychological health with explicit regard to someone acquiring a gun. Unless you've been referred to a psychiatrist and/or psychologist an untrained GP wouldn't necessarily know the implications of your symptoms with access to firearms.
The bottom line is, if someone commits a heinous crime like in Plymouth (et al) the finger is pointed straight back at the GP because he's the bloke that stated everything was fine with no concerns as to suitability.
The costs are meant to reflect how much time your GP has to spend reading your medical records. That includes specialist reports and if they need to, contacting the specialist and entering into a discussion about you. It's widely known some GP's kick the arse right out of what it costs to produce a report.
I also want to highlight for the sake of the sport, your livelihoods etc y'all need to be careful what you post online, particularly social media and publicly available material. I'm not talking about posting photos of shot quarry or 'advertising' that you have guns.
The police (and rightly so) are checking social media accounts on how individuals who hold certificates interact with others. Rants and disagreements happen, its part of us being human but there are some social media groups I have been a part of and the way some interact with others is frankly shocking; threats of violence, derogatory comments, 'under the table' racial comments and a whole host of other stuff.
All of that sort of stuff forms patterns of behavior and the police LOVE patterns of behavior, they use them as intelligence, active stops, etc.
Patterns of behavior are MORE than enough to revoke an existing certificate, be the grounds for refusal of a grant or renewal and no doctor in the world could save you even stating that you would be suitable to have access to guns; what your mouth says and what your body says are two separate things and they are amplified in 'keyboard warriors'.
Ultimately the police decide and they ALWAYS err on the side of caution particularly in regard to risk and public safety.
Jake Davison's murdering rampage could've been prevented because his pattern of behavior was clearly visible on social media and it circumvents medical records checks/medical opinion.
Best wishes.
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