To better protect the public from those who are medically unfit to own a firearm, strengthened controls for licensed gun owners will be in place as of this week.
GP offices across England are implementing a new digital marker that, once added to a patient’s record, will flag the fact that they have a firearms license and automatically notify doctors if anything pertinent has changed regarding their medical condition.
This might entail a shift in their mental well-being, the identification of a neurological disorder, or indications of substance abuse.
With the new system, GPs can notify the appropriate police force, who can then quickly identify licensed gun owners who may not be fit to own a firearm, review their licenses, and, if necessary, seize their firearms.
Kit Malthouse, the minister for crime, policing, and probation, said:
We have some of the strictest gun control laws in the world, and when we feel that stronger procedures are necessary, we won’t hesitate to implement them.
A clear reminder of how much we owe the public is the upcoming inquest into the awful shootings in Sussex and the approaching one anniversary of the horrifying shootings in Plymouth.
We are committed to keeping our streets safer, thus it is only appropriate that the police are informed of any changes in the medical status of anyone with a valid weapons license.
This action is another illustration of how we provide the police with the resources they need to safeguard the public.
The digital marker system supports recently-enacted statutory guidance that states that the police cannot give a guns license until they have received information from a sufficiently competent doctor regarding the applicant’s medical history.
This guideline was put into effect last November.
The digital marking will simplify the formerly manual process of keeping track of patients who have asked for or been given a firearms certificate.
The marker was created by NHS Digital and is now available in 98 percent of practices in England’s general practices as of this week.
Maria Caulfield, minister for patient safety and primary care, said:
With the help of these new regulations, GPs will find it simpler to spot any potentially dangerous medical conditions in gun owners or applicants before providing crucial information to the appropriate police forces, thereby promoting public safety.
The British Medical Association (BMA) and the Home Office and the National Police Chiefs Council reached an agreement in July 2019 over the role of doctors in the firearms licensing system, which led to the agreement of the new system.
Simon Bolton, CEO of NHS Digital, stated:
A perfect illustration of how a digitally equipped healthcare service benefits patients and the general public is the addition of this marker to GP records.
The new method will also free up more time for general practitioners to provide care by lessening their administrative workload.
GP in Matlock, Derbyshire, and BMA lead for firearms licensing policy, Dr. Peter Holden, stated:
Family physicians support the need for vigilance and appropriate protections when it comes to owning a weapon that can be used with lethal results as advocates for their patients and communities.
The BMA has long advocated for a robust, understandable, and nationally standardized active flagging mechanism inside patient records, and the new digital marker is a step in the right direction toward enhancing the contribution GPs contribute to the licensing process.
The general public shouldn’t believe that this will be a quick fix, though.
It could take up to five years before all licensed gun owners are covered by this new framework since it only applies to new applications or license renewals.
GPs will, of course, continue to use all the information at their disposal when a diagnosis of concern is made, and they will notify authorities if there is a risk to the general public or the patient.
The implementation of the marker, however, must not indicate that the GP is alone responsible for maintaining public safety; as the police have admitted, they are ultimately in charge of overseeing the licensing of firearms.
But when this new marker is implemented, we urge doctors of general practice to strengthen their bonds with neighbourhood police in order to further safeguard public safety.