BMA to take legal action over physician associates
Doctors are launching legal action against the GMC due to plans for it to regulate the controversially named physician and anaesthesia associates (PAs and AAs).
The BMA is warning there is a dangerous blurring of lines for patients between highly-skilled and experienced doctors and assistant roles.
It claims the Government is undermining and devaluing the medical profession, and confusing patients, by requiring the council to regulate these professions.
The BMA is giving ‘whole-hearted support’ to, and liaising with, an independent group of grassroots anaesthetists called Anaesthetists United, who plan separate but what is described as complementary legal action.
This relates to the lack of any national regulation of scope of practice for PAs and AAs, an issue the trade union says the GMC has avoided. The BMA is liaising with Anaesthetists United about this and says it offers its support.
United in opposition
Group co-founder Dr Richard Mark said: ‘Doctors and their patients are united over their opposition to the outgoing Government’s plans for replacing doctors with associates. Taking legal action seems to be the only way forward.’
The GMC becomes the regulator of PAs and AAs in December 2024 and the BMA has voiced concern that it has been using the term ‘medical professionals’ in its materials to describe both doctors and associates.
This includes its recently revised guidance document Good Medical Practice, defining the standards of care and behaviour that are expected, which is used as a reference to determine fitness to practise.
Prof Philip Banfield
The BMA is launching a judicial review claim against the GMC over its use of this term, which the association argues should only ever be used to refer to qualified doctors.
BMA council chair Prof Philip Banfield announced the development at its Annual Representative Meeting in Belfast yesterday.
He commented: ‘Everyone has the right to know who the healthcare professional they are seeing is and what they are qualified to do – and crucially, not to do.
Confuses patients
‘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.
‘The central and solemn responsibility of the GMC is to protect the public from those who are not registered qualified doctors, pretending to be doctors.
‘It has become increasingly clear that broadening the term “medical professionals” to include those without medical degrees has had the effect of making this task far harder, when recent experience has now shown that this represents a dangerous blurring of this critical distinction.’
‘We have had enough of the Government and NHS leadership eroding our profession, and alongside Anaesthetists United, we are standing up for both doctors and patients to block this ill-thought-through project before it leads to more unintended patient harm.
‘It’s not too late to row back from this uncontrolled and ill-thought out experiment in dumbing down the medical skills and expertise available to patients.’
GMC response
A GMC spokesperson said: ‘In 2019, the GMC was asked by the four UK governments to take on regulation of physician associates and anaesthesia associates. Earlier this year, legislation introducing the regulation of PAs and AAs was passed by the UK and Scottish Parliaments. This means that we will start to regulate PAs and AAs from the end of the year.
‘Regulation will help to assure patients, colleagues and employers that PAs and AAs are safe to practise and can be held to account if serious concerns are raised.
‘As a multiprofessional regulator, we will recognise and regulate doctors, PAs and AAs as three distinct professions. 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.
‘We know from several years of ongoing engagement with patients and the public, doctors and stakeholders that they do expect PAs and AAs will, like doctors, to work to high professional standards. We will continue to work with patients, professionals, royal colleges, the BMA and others towards the delivery of safe and effective regulation for these groups.
‘We note the BMA’s correspondence on a range of issues and further note that no legal proceedings have been issued at this stage.’