Certification - Parachute Jumps
Updated on Tuesday, 23 December 2014,
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The golden rule here is only to sign a form that you are happy with. If the wording is to broad or some sections suggest you have undertaken extensive investigations, then strike them out or rewrite and initial the sentence. You also need to have some description of the nature of the jump. Old fashioned civil jumps were said to be equivalent to jumping off a six foot wall, but modern parachutes (especially the tandem variety) often land very gently.
So the sentence “This person is fit to undertake a parachute jump” could be replaced by “from the information provided to me by this person and that available in his/her GP medical record, I am aware of no reason why he/she should not undertake a parachute jump”.
Note that:
- you are not obliged to provide this service
- if you feel competent to sign these forms you may and you may charge (even if "it's for charity" )
- a small study (albeit quite old now) showed that the money raised for charity jumps was less than the money spent in health and social costs treating the minority of jumpers who were injured
- You could choose not to complete the form and instead to provide the information as "Mrs X is my patient. She is fit and well (or insert medical conditions). She is on no medication (or insert medication). I hope you find this medical information useful as your jump instructor considers the suitability of my patient to undertake training and make a jump.”
