UK gun licence changes ‘place undue burden on GPs’
Here’s a non Brexit debate story to start us off – don’t be fooled about the rest of our content this week (at least in part) though…
Do we really want to put more pressure on our precious rural GPs – the answer is YES in terms of the stuff set out in this article:
Hard-pressed GPs lack the resources to deal with new firearm licensing arrangements designed to keep guns out of the hands of those medically unfit to have access to them, doctors have warned.
The British Medical Association annual conference in Belfast on Wednesday comfortably passed a motion expressing its concerns over the changes in gun licensing introduced in April.
The motion said the changes place undue burden on practices to report on every application for a gun licence, leaves the element of discretion too broad in reporting depression, and places the GP in the vulnerable position of having to decide when to report any deterioration in the health of a patient flagged on their notes as a firearms holder. The question of whether to charge a fee for the service is also an issue.