Skydive health waiver

[Hmm2026]

I’ve signed up to do a tandem skydive and raised nearly £700 in a week. Just come to complete the waiver and couldn’t tick to say I’m on no long term medication.

Im on for asthma and painkillers for Trigeminal Neuralgia. I’m confident that these will have no bearing on the jump. The company says I need to get a GP to sign a form, the GP is refusing to do it because it’s an extreme sport.

does anyone have any suggestions which aren’t don’t do the jump? I realise this is an option but so many people have donated already that I don’t want to not do this. I’m perfectly capable of doing it.

Is it worth contacting the skydiving company to see if they have any medical referees? I know nothing about sky diving ( but well done ) but in scuba diving there are is a board of doctors that have specialist knowledge of diving related medical matters .
Good luck

Well, it sounds as if you have no choice if the jump can’t be done without the waiver to say you’re not on longterm medication and you are, and your GP won’t sign the appropriate form. I suppose you could try to find a less scrupulous GP.

That’s a great idea, thank you.

DH says just don’t tell them you’re on meds, not sure that’s the best basis to start a sky dive from

The frustrating bit is that it’s not because of my health. It’s because of a blanket rule. They won’t even look at it

Your GP has literally advised you against doing the jump, you should cancel ASAP., to proceed would be inconsiderate to other participants. (and leave you liable should something "bad" happen).

You should have checked if you were able to do the jump before getting people to commit money.

P.S. I'm a qualified skydiver (AFF), many years lapsed license.

My DD19 with asthma and I had the same situation with our GP not signing the form. I rang the UK based skydive company they said no problem as long as we sign the waifer to say we take full responsibility.
We did the 1500m skydive, I found my breath was taken away during the first 10 secs or so and I was concerned for my DD19 jumping straight after me but she was fine.
We loved it but note, DD was keen to 'circle round' on the way down but was nauseous by the time she landed and couldn't share the driving home, I chose not to spin when my instructor asked if I wanted to and felt ok.
Enjoy!

I wouldn’t mind if he had advised me against but he hasn’t. A GP hasn’t even looked at it because the blanket rule of the practice is that they won’t complete these forms.

Im happy to pay and see someone. I

I didn’t check beforehand because I’m OK. I did one of these about 15 years ago and was fine, the meds I’m on now are for a pain condition which isn’t going to be affected by a skydive.
So it never crossed my mind that it would be any different.

I paid to see a private GP who did a basic medical and assessed my asthma, then signed the form, cost £75.
Had no problems during the skydive.

Then find a private GP and pay?

That’s why I’m here, asking what the options are a couple of people have really helpfully posted about their own experiences and solutions, for which I’m really grateful.

That’s what I will do.

For clarity again, in case anyone is concerned that I’m wanting to do this against medical advice. The GP hasn’t assessed me as unfit, the practice won’t complete these forms as a blanket decision based on their own policy. The request hasn’t been seen by a GP.

Okay, great, then I hope you can get a private assessment and the deem you to be fit.

Hope you enjoy the jump enough to try it solo one day!

it isn't NHS work so there is no obligation for the GP to do the form. Private GP might. Or as pp suggested the skydive company may be able to help either find someone/support you self-certifying.

Why not cancel and offer to help the charity in some other way instead.

Their insurance probably won't cover them unless you're certified by a GP.

A specialist private doctor who is more knowledgeable than your own GP on skydiving, your condition and medication may be willing to sign the form, this would be a question for the skydiving company - do they know a suitably qualified doctor? If not, you can't do the jump unfortunately.

Put yourself in the shoes of the company and your GP. If there was an accident (remember that skydiving is dangerous and kills or seriously injures people, you will have read all about this in the T&Cs), then their insurers will go through all their procedures in fine detail and tie them in knots for months to determine whether procedures were followed and appropriate professional judgement used.

Thank you, I’m half excited and half terrified at the moment which is (I guess) why people are paying me to do it 😂

I did check online first and everything I read said that my health issues are OK. My TN will likely hurt more but it’s just pain and will go away again. I genuinely didn’t go into this without thinking, I’ve just been flummoxed by the GP response. I just have never asked for anything other than a sick note before and it never crossed my mind that they wouldn’t do it.

Ive paused the just giving page till I get this sorted out. Hopefully it’s just an admin issue.

People have already donated, I’ve paused it for now but I’m fine to do it, it’s just the form that the GP won’t sign for policy reasons. Not because of my health. I’ve had some great advice upthread though so will pursue those options.

Ive found a place locally that does the checks for £115 and they’re specifically for sky diving type people

Why take the risk - it's madness. Surely the people who have donated would understand if you explained you couldn't get medical clearance and changed to a safer sponsored activity? If not, just refund them.

If I'm totally honest I think it's selfish to undertake this kind of activity when you're not medically fit for it. The NHS is overloaded; it shouldn't have to deal with people recklessly partaking in extreme sports.

This is getting a bit ‘cancel the cheque’. I’ve got a couple of long term conditions - neither of which are affected by or will affect a sky dive.

The only reason I can’t get my GP to sign is that as a blanket policy they don’t complete these forms. The GP doesn’t even see them, the receptionists pick them out and send the standard response. That’s fine, it’s their policy.

I asked if anyone knew of other options / solutions and I’ve had some really useful suggestions from other people who have been in a similar situation.

I’m not putting anyone at risk, I’m not putting myself at risk (any more than anyone else who does these things), I’m not asking for anyone to do anything immoral or which causes them to breach any code of ethics or conduct.

It is literally just an administrative process.

An update:

(mainly for anyone in the same situation as me who searches for answers on here)

I paid to see a medic through a company which offers medical assessments for drivers, divers, sky divers etc.

She was lovely and has signed the form. So I’m cleared for take off and all above board.

Skydiving is a ridiculous sport anyway. Why on earth would anyone want to jump out of a plane? Just do a sponsored bounce on a trampoline or something.

Well by law the waiver isn't worth the paper it's written on anyway. I have absolutely no idea why these companies continue to use them. They aren't enforceable and there's an argument that they are illegal because they mislead consumers about their legal rights.

You cannot avoid liability for death or personal injury that is caused by your negligence or that of your employees/agents etc.

I can't really see why the OP's health condition would in any way be affected by doing a skydive anyway. Glad you sorted it OP and enjoy it!

I don't disagree with this!

Well done and enjoy OP

🤣 whilst I can’t see myself doing it more than once (apparently I’m covered for three years now!), I did a Macmillan mighty hike last year - my toenails have only just grown back! I won’t be doing that again either.

Why come on a thread and mock someone for raising money for charity by doing a skydive and telling them it's ridiculous. Why not click away and keep your opinions to yourself.

@Hmm2026 been following your thread and very pleased you've managed to get the waiver form sorted. All the very best for your jump, you'll love it. DH is a qualified skydiver, it is a great sport even if it's a one off for a worthy cause ♥️