A group of senior doctors plan to sue the General Medical Council in an unprecedented attack on the NHS’s growing reliance on physician associates (PAs).
They claim that personal assistants – doctors who have only two years of healthcare training and are supposed to work alongside doctors and GPs – are increasingly being used to fill staffing gaps in the health service.
The group Anesthetists United has raised more than £50,000 to take the GMC to court, claiming its plan to start regulating so-called “cut-price doctors” does not set out clear rules about what PAs can and cannot do.
PAs are supposed to have limited responsibilities, including collecting patient medical histories, performing basic physical examinations, and analyzing test results, all of which must be carried out under the supervision of a physician.
Some PAs are also allowed to assist in sedating patients before surgery and are known as anesthesia associates (AA).
Actress Emily Chesterton, 30, died after a personal assistant mistook the symptoms of a blood clot for anxiety.
However, doctors say staffing crises mean hospitals are “changing the rules” to allow personal assistants to work unsupervised and in roles beyond their expertise.
Last year there were reports of personal assistants requesting prescriptions, discharging patients from the hospital without a doctor’s approval, and even participating in brain surgery.
There have also been cases where PA errors have led to patient deaths.
Doctors involved in the legal action say they want the GMC (the independent regulator of doctors in the UK) to clearly define the boundaries of associates’ roles to prevent them from carrying out complex medical tasks that could put patients at risk.
Consultant anesthetist Dr Richard Marks, who runs the group, told The Mail on Sunday: “No one really knows what a medical associate is.
‘Their scope of practice has not been clearly defined and I think that is deliberate.
‘It is effectively a green light for local trust health chiefs to pressure them into whatever roles they want.
‘But how can a profession be regulated when there are no clear boundaries defining the limits of its function?’
The NHS plans to hire around 10,000 personal assistants by 2038 to ease pressure on the NHS and free up time for doctors and nurses.
However, this is strongly opposed by doctors, who say it confuses the role of doctors with that of associates.
The British Medical Association, which represents doctors, described it as a “slap in the face” and said the move would not improve patient safety.
The Mail on Sunday was the first to raise the alarm about PAs last year and has since been running a campaign to stop The Physician Associates.
We told how Colleen Howe, 34, died from breast cancer following delays in her treatment when a medical assistant misdiagnosed a lump as a blocked milk duct.
And actress Emily Chesterton, 30, died after a personal assistant mistook the symptoms of a blood clot for anxiety, while Norman Jopling, 79, had to fight for his life after a serious brain haemorrhage. be confused with a painful headache.
Experts say these tragic failures are often due to the fact that hospital administrators ask personal assistants to perform tasks for which they are not qualified.
A group of senior doctors plan to sue the General Medical Council in an unprecedented attack on the NHS’s growing reliance on physician associates (PAs).
In September 2023, a personal assistant was reported to have told The Physician Associate Podcast that he had participated in brain surgery.
And earlier this year, a Freedom of Information request revealed that personal assistants at Leeds University Hospitals NHS Trust had ordered more than 1,000 scans, including x-rays and CT scans – a task only doctors can perform.
The hospital claimed that this was due to a “system error” and that no patients were injured as a result.
Dr. Marks noted that many associates were “brilliant and really talented,” but added, “If you can’t define associate roles, it raises questions about patient safety.”
‘We need this to protect patients, but also to protect associates from being forced to do things beyond their expertise, which we know is happening.
“I can’t just tell my registrar anesthetist, who may not have a background in paediatrics, to look after a three-year-old, but with PAs they can simply change specialties and there is no mechanism to restrict that.
‘Things will be lost. Things will be ruined.
Anesthetists United wrote to the GMC raising concerns in March, but was “dissatisfied” with the regulator’s response and said “the only route left” was the legal one.
Having raised more than £50,000 to fund the legal challenge, he has now set a new target of £100,000 to help fight the case in court.
The group also wants the GMC to ensure that PAs are not referred to as “medical professionals” so that patients cannot confuse them with doctors, and that patients are always informed when they are treated by a PA.
“I don’t understand why the GMC doesn’t want to make the regulation stricter,” Dr Marks said.
“They set standards for doctors. Why would they allow themselves to cheapen their brand?”
A GMC spokesperson said: ‘We take note of Anesthetists United’s campaign. We continue to listen to the opinions of doctors, PAs and AAs and others.’