William Dowling & Victoria Rose
21 Jan 2014 · Coroner David Ridley · Wiltshire & Swindon
A similar concern from this report was raised again 1 time later. See the linked reports.
The coroner's concerns
1. doctors unable to report relevant information about patients to firearms licensing authority
“During the course of the hearing | heard evidence from Wiltshire Police Firearms Licensing Manager, who indicated to me that at the present moment in time aside from a letter (copy attached marked A - since July 2011) which is sent to General Practitioners when firearms license applications are successful or where they are renewed, giving a doctor the opportunity to relay relevant information in relation to their patient within 14 days, there is currently no memorandum of understanding or”
2. confidentiality outweighs public safety in information sharing
“am also concerned that any review arising out of this letter should not be singularly restricted as regards sharing information solely related to the suitability of somebody to hold a firearms licence”
3. conflict of interest in firearms licensing by police staff
“am also concerned as regards decisions being made relating to firearms licensing in respect of current employees within that licensing organisation's (ie the Police) employment or even former employees”
Linked reports
Closely relatedConfidence 0.85 · high
This report
“there is currently no memorandum of understanding or legislation that allows doctors the ability during the duration of the term of a firearms license, which stands at 5 years, to report matters which may have a bearing on that patient's suitability to hold a firearms license”
Later report
“An applicant for a shotgun certificate is able to obtain medication from an on-line doctor without the knowledge of their GP, giving rise to a risk that a licensing authority might grant a shotgun certificate to an applicant who has a relevant previous medical history about which the authority is not aware.”
Responses
No published response was found on judiciary.uk.