
Originally Posted by
ghost
I am a GP and although I rarely post or race I read the forum almost daily and find it incredibly informative and entertaining - some of the posts are funnier than anything on TV. It saddens me when forumites generalise about a particular profession - maybe posters on this thread assume GPs don't fell run but plenty do and I'm sure read the forum as well. It's not that I'm being sensitive, I've heard it all before, and I'm not defending GPs or the NHS it's just that I look forward to reading the forum as a bit of light relief from the day to day grind of dealing with chronic diseases, terminal illness plus the odd emergency to get the pulse racing and because it has a real 'community' feel of like minded people sharing their passion for fell running.
We all have stories about 'cowboy builders/dodgy plumbers/lazy accountants' but frankly they bore me and unless we want to alienate other members of the community they should be kept well away from 'general fell running issues'.
For the record.
1) I take running injuries very seriously in my patients.
2) Insurance reports/medicals are not paid for by the NHS.
3) If a report states an examination is required and the doctor does not do this then the doctor has been negligent. By signing the form the doctor is taking responsibiliy for the requirements of the report - that is why there is a charge. If the doctor were to miss the fact that a patient had eg malignant hypertension or a significant heart valve lesion leading to death during an endurance event and the was found to be negligent then he/she could be struck off.