VicPol backs away from GP approvals for new recruits

Victoria Police has confirmed a reversal of controversial changes to its recruitment process, with the onus returning to the force, not GPs, to confirm would-be recruits’ fitness to serve.
 
On Thursday, a Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed the organisation ‘is strengthening the physical and mental health assessment process following feedback from the RACGP’.
 
‘This includes providing GPs with documentation making it clear Victoria Police carries the onus in ultimately deciding whether an applicant is suitable for the job,’ they told newsGP.
 
‘We are also providing more comprehensive educative material to guide GPs on the scope of assessments while applicants will be required to formally attest their medical history has been fully and accurately disclosed.’
 
Introduced last July without consultation with the RACGP, the process had previously meant GPs were expected to decide on aspiring police officers’ physical and mental suitability for the work.
 
The RACGP wrote to Victoria Police outlining its significant concerns about the change, resulting in a meeting between the parties earlier this month.
 
For RACGP Victoria Chair Dr Anita Muñoz, the shift in approach is welcome news after she raised safety, efficacy and medico-legal implications in those discussions.
 
‘Victoria Police conceded that the role of the GP is not to replace VicPol’s own recruitment processes, which include a thorough assessment of medical and psychological health,’ she told newsGP.
 
‘They’ve been able to clarify that they’re seeking GPs to help potential candidates assess themselves for suitability.’
 
Under the initial policy changes, the onus shifted from internal police processes to GPs, who were asked to carry out a separate psychological assessment of applicants and evaluate their medical suitability going back at least five years before making an ‘informed decision’.
 
Dr Muñoz said GPs will now help potential candidates identify if an application is not going to result in an offer for training, whether they are suitable for training, or whether further investigation into their medical conditions is warranted.
 
For the latter category, she said a simple example could be a candidate who has asthma.
 
‘The environment that a person will go into when they’re serving as a police officer means that they need more extensive testing of their asthma to determine whether they’re at risk of having sudden and significant asthma attacks in certain environments,’ she said.
 
‘There are other medical conditions where further assessment might mean that a person’s not suitable because they may have a condition that’s not adequately controlled.’
 
Dr Muñoz now expects Victoria Police to issue updated guidance documentation for GPs in the coming weeks, and confirmed the college is working with the police to put together training on the process, most likely in the form of webinars and self-paced modules.
 
‘We also want to make clear to our members that they are not obliged to undertake an assessment if they feel that they’re not able to answer in good faith, that a person is or isn’t suitable,’ she said.
 
‘There may be a number of our members who will prefer to wait until they’ve participated in the education that we’re planning and feel they’ve got the confidence to do that properly.
 
‘We also know that there are other GPs in the community who are experts in occupational medicine and would already feel like they’re able to answer the questions.’
 
Victoria Police said having an applicant’s own doctor involved in the assessment is in the best interests of the applicant, the police and the community, and that police ‘will continue to work constructively with the RACGP’.
 
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