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Physician Associates will support doctors, not replace them, says Victoria Atkins

Medical staff will support doctors and be regulated like them, but will never replace them, the Health and Human Services Secretary has promised.

Write IVictoria Atkins said training more doctors and anesthetists was central to the NHS’s long-term workforce plan to deliver faster care to patients.

The staff will help ease the pressure on hospitals by taking on some of the responsibilities associated with doctors, such as taking patient histories and performing physical examinations, she said.

It was announced on Monday that staff requiring two years of training will be supervised by the same regulatory body as doctors requiring six years of training, despite doctors’ concerns, under new legislation due to be passed this week.

Under the workforce plan released earlier this year, 1,300 PAs will be trained annually from 2023/24, creating a total of 10,000 PAs by 2036/2037. By 2031, approximately 280 anesthetists (AAs) will be trained annually, up from 120 last year.

Ms Atkins said: “They have been proven to be safe and effective. Not just here in the UK, but across Europe and North America where they have been part of healthcare teams for decades.

“Anesthesiologists can reduce downtime in operating rooms, increase efficiency and reduce patient wait times.

“Research across the NHS shows that Physician Associates can reduce the administrative burden on doctors and GPs, allowing them to spend more time on the patients who most need their expertise and making doctors’ jobs a little easier.”

In July, health experts called for greater clarity about the role of staff after a 30-year-old woman died due to a misdiagnosis.

Emily Chesterton, from Salford, died after two visits to a junior doctor she thought was a GP. The practice ceased using PA after her death.

The British Medical Association (BMA) and the UK Doctors’ Association said using the same regulatory bodies for doctors and medical staff would be a “dangerous” move as it would blur the lines between professions and pose a risk to patient safety.

Commenting on the announcement, Professor Philip Banfield, chairman of the BMA, said: “If the government calls this move a ‘boost’ for patient safety, it will feel like another slap in the face to Britain’s under-appreciated patient doctors.” Spent years. Explain why the opposite is true.

“At every stage we have made it clear that the GMC is the wrong regulator for medical professionals: it is the body responsible for overseeing doctors, which these professionals simply are not.”

“The fact that the government is proceeding despite overwhelming opposition from the medical community and patients shows that it does not take safety issues seriously when selecting a regulator.”

Professor Banfield said patients expect to receive the same standard of care whether they are being treated by a doctor or a member of staff.

“But there is no comparison between the two years of PA training and the four to six years it takes to qualify as a doctor,” he said.

“Patients deserve to know who is treating them and what level of care they are receiving. By perpetuating the notion that PAs can do everything that doctors can do, the government is paving the way for more of the patient safety incidents we have already seen.”

Victoria Atkins: “Training more doctors and anesthetists is central to our NHS plan.”

My mission as Secretary of Health and Human Services is clear: reform the system to make it faster, easier and fairer for patients and staff.

The long-term NHS workforce plan launched by the current government in June – the first in the history of the NHS – will expand and upskill our workforce, supporting progress towards all of these goals.

By doubling the number of medical school places, we are training more doctors and GPs in the UK than ever before, speeding up the delivery of care to patients. By increasing the workforce, we reduce the pressure doctors face and give them more support, making the system fairer for them.

A central part of this plan is to train more doctors and anesthesiologists. These medical staff have been supporting our NHS doctors for around twenty years and both require extensive medical training.

Medical staff always work under the supervision of a physician, taking medical histories, performing medical examinations and assisting doctors during and after surgeries so that intensive care can reach patients faster.

They have proven their safety and effectiveness. Not just here in the UK, but across Europe and North America where they have been part of healthcare teams for decades. Anesthesiologists can reduce downtime in operating rooms, increase efficiency, and reduce patient wait times.

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 22: Health Minister Victoria Atkins leaves after the weekly cabinet meeting at No. 10 Downing Street on November 22, 2023 in London, England.  (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Victoria Atkins said nursing staff would help ease pressure in hospitals by taking on a range of tasks related to doctors (Image: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

NHS research shows that Physician Associates can reduce the administrative burden on doctors and GPs, allowing them to spend more time on the patients who need their expertise most and making doctors’ jobs a little easier.

Senior doctors are also supportive of our plans. Dr Jeanette Dixon, president of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said Medical Associates “will support more doctors to provide the care our patients need” and that doctors are “delighted to have a strong helping hand”.

However, it is clear that more healthcare staff working in our NHS should be regulated in the same way as other healthcare professions.

That’s why the Government is today drafting legislation to begin the process of regulating doctors and anesthetists by the General Medical Council (GMC).

The GMC will set standards for practice, education and training. We also maintain a directory of qualified and competent doctors and anesthesiologists. Make sure they work under the same regulatory oversight and have the same level of responsibility as doctors, nurses and other health care professionals.

This law is designed to protect patients. And it could enable healthcare staff to prescribe certain medications, further reducing the burden on doctors and GPs and increasing the time they spend caring for the most vulnerable patients.

Increasing the number of medical staff in our NHS does not mean replacing doctors. They will support the record number of doctors we train, improving the workforce while ensuring patient safety every step of the way.

Victoria Atkins – Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Source: I News

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