Outrage as GPs boycott mental health checks on gun owners
... and their union tells them: Claim that you’re a conscientious objector
DOCTORS have been accused of putting lives at risk by boycotting a plan to stop guns falling into the hands of mentally ill people.
Since last year, GPs have been required to inform the police if they have concerns about a patient applying for a firearms licence – for example if the person has a history of depression.
The move followed pressure from Wiltshire coroner David Ridley, who dealt with the tragic case of retired police inspector Bill Dowling, a licensed gun owner, who shot dead his ex-partner Victoria Rose, then killed himself, after stopping taking anti-depressants.
But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that many doctors are refusing to co-operate with the scheme and are being encouraged not to do so by their union, the British Medical Association (BMA). The BMA told its members they could demand payment or say they had a ‘conscientious objection to the holding of firearms’.
Durham Police’s Assistant Chi e f Co n s t a b l e Dave Orford has condemned the BMA’s move as a ‘retrograde step that puts the public at greater risk’.
It had been agreed between the Home Office, police chiefs and the BMA that, as of April 2016, firearms licensing teams could write to an applicant’s GP to enquire about their medical history and ask if they had any concerns about the applicant owning a gun. Doctors were also to place a ‘flag’ in the medical records of any patient with a firearms licence, so they could notify police if they spotted a change in behaviour that could affect their suitability to own a gun.
But within months, the BMA went back on the agreement. In some areas, such as Scotland, GPs began demanding licence applicants pay as much as £200 before they will co-operate with police. After he dealt with another case of a man with a history of depression who shot himself, Wiltshire coroner Mr Ridley wrote to the Home Office and BMA again expressing his frustration. Mr Ridley said he was ‘extremely concerned’ the scheme was not working and that the doctors’ union was advising its members ‘in a very negative manner’. He said Ministers should consider whether new laws are needed to force GPs to comply.
Police Minister Nick Hurd replied last month that he shared the coroner’s ‘concerns’ and added: ‘I am disappointed the arrangements for the initial scan and flagging of patient records, negotiated and previously agreed by all interested parties, are no longer supported by the BMA.’
A National Police Chiefs’ Council spokesman said: ‘ We are concerned about recent guidance issued by the BMA that suggests doctors s hould not use an encoded marker as part of the monitoring process. Without a system like this GPs will not be aware that one of their patients has a firearm and will have no way of sharing any concerns with us.’ The BMA said: ‘The Government has failed to fund this process, leaving GP practices with no option but to charge for the administrative costs of producing medical reports, as these are not part of the NHS services GPs are funded to deliver.’