Leading doctors plan to launch legal action against the medical regulator amid rising concerns about the use of physician associates.
From December 2024, the GMC will become the regulator for physician associates and anaesthesia associates – known as Medical Associate Professions . “It’s not too late to row back from this uncontrolled experiment in dumbing down the medical skills and expertise available to our patients.” The association is seeking to bring the legal claim against the GMC over its use of this term which it says should only be used to refer to qualified doctors.
“Doctors are ‘the medical profession’. To describe any other staff as medical professionals not only undermines doctors and the rigorous training journey they have been on, but also confuses patients, who rightly associate the two terms as one and the same. A GMC spokesperson said: “In 2019 the General Medical Council was asked by the four UK governments to take on regulation of physician associates and anaesthesia associates .
“PAs and AAs don’t have the same knowledge, skills and expertise as doctors. They are not doctors but they can, and do, play important roles within multidisciplinary teams when appropriate and effective clinical governance and supervision are in place. Meanwhile, delegates at the BMA annual representative meeting also passed a motion which called for a public enquiry into reports that MAPs have “worked outside of their competence”.