bicks

Does anyone know how easy or hard it is to arrange a medical appointment and attain a valid Medical certificate?
Obviously I will need ID, proof of address etc..

cjm

As I recall, telephone a surgery, arrange an appointment, take along some ID and €23 (as I recall) in cash to pay the GP direct. First appointment will be thorough. It then rather depends what you want the certificate for. I have one that says I am fit to play cricket, but as I don't work I have not had a need for one relating to employment.
If your French is not up to it, ask around for an English speaking GP, many do speak English.
And, welcome to the Forum.

cmread

The first appointment might be thorough, but it won't necessarily be. I wanted a medical certificate for doing martial arts and my doctor basically just checked to see whether I was a carbon-based life form who was still breathing. It wasn't just that doctor's policy, either, because, when he retired, his replacement, a much younger doctor, did the same thing.

cyrian

If it is for sport then you simply get a certificate that says that there is no contra-indication to you competing.
I need a certificate to play golf and I can download it from the french golf federation website.
My golf club will arrange for one of the members to sign it and stamp it without him seeing me or charging me.
If not for sport then what has been said above is accurate.

Tweedpipe

As already indicated here, it really depends what the medical certificate is for, i.e. prolonged absence from work, to participate in an endurance race, to enroll in a sporting club etc.
If one assumes its for the latter, then it's worth knowing that any general practitioner should be able to issue a certificate for most 'soft' sports.

For those who wish to practice higher-risk sports such as horse-riding, boxing, scuba-diving, shooting, parachuting, or even flying, it is wise to get a list of doctors who are familiar with the risks and who are authorised to issue the necessary certificate; lists of such doctors are usually obtainable from your local league or associated sports federation.

For those people who are existing members of a sporting club, in some cases the renewed FF (Federation Francaise) Licence is automatically reissued by the club regional secretary, but doesn't become truly valid until the licence holder visits his/her doctor for the annual medical - and if declared fit then gets the doctor to issue the medical certificate and/or sign & stamp the licence in the designed place.

As an example, an FF shooting licence is re-issued each year when the holder has shown to the club secretary that he/she has adequately performed the three compulsory practice sessions in the sporting year, and has a stamped-up record of such. Then on completion of a medical, this renewed licence then becomes valid for the new year when signed & stamped by the doctor - one of the conditions being that in the preceding period the applicant has not been admitted to an institution for the mentally unstable!
Needless to say I had difficulty to talk myself out of that one.......

cmread

It may be a good idea to go to a doctor who understands a particular sport, but is it a legal requirement?

I say this because jujitsu, a martial art, is not a 'soft' sport (it's actually not a sport at all, but is treated as such), not at all, and yet the club didn't ask me to do any more than get a normal certificate from my doctor. My doctor knew it was for martial arts and the particular martial art in question, and yet, the examination was just a check to see whether I was alive.

EuroTrash

For schools, gyms etc it's just a back-covering exercise, isn't it, so that the activity provider is seen not to have been irresponsible or negligent by e.g. encouraging a person with a weak heart to over-exert themself. Realistically, if you had a heart condition or any other medical condition severe enough for you to make it inadvisable to take part in sport, it should already be on your medical record and your doctor will be alerted to either carry out a proper examination, or refuse the certificate.

cyrian

I can only comment on my own experience and that is I am able to play golf without a medical certificate.
However, if I want to play in any competitions then I need to be able to register a medical certificate.
I have been told that it is a legal requirement which was introduced a few years ago for all sports.
As I said above, it simply states that there are no apparent medical reasons why I should not compete.
I think that it prevents the competition organisers from being sued if you should fall down dead.
I am also required to have 3rd party insurance which is not a requirement in the UK.

cjm

I believe my certificate for cricket is linked to club insurance.