GPs using fewer physician associates, survey suggests
A new survey, conducted by the GP magazine Pulse, found that 21% of 425 GP networks in England said they had reduced PA numbers in the last year.
It comes after the Government-ordered Leng Review found PAs have been used as substitutes for doctors, despite having significantly less training.
One of the 18 recommendations in the review was that PAs be banned from seeing patients whom a medic has not reviewed to prevent the risk of 'catastrophic' misdiagnoses.
Pulse said that the main reasons GPs gave for cutting back on PAs included: guidance from professional bodies; supervision demands; patient safety concerns and rising complaints.
One GP told Pulse: 'We had a PA but now don't use them because of the change in guidance.
'We can't afford to pay someone with such limited scope.'
On Friday, the union representing PAs and anaesthesia associates (AAs), United Medical Associate Professionals (UMAPs), lost a High Court bid to temporarily block NHS England from implementing recommended changes from the Leng Review.
More than 3,500 PAs and 100 AAs are working in the NHS, and there have been previous calls for an expansion in their number.
But their roles were reviewed following high-profile deaths of patients who were misdiagnosed by PAs, with six patient deaths linked to PAs recorded by coroners in England.
They include 30-year-old Emily Chesterton, who died from a pulmonary embolism after being misdiagnosed by a PA on two occasions and told she had anxiety.
In her report, Professor Gillian Leng concluded there were 'no convincing reasons to abolish the roles of AA or PA' but there was also no case 'for continuing with the roles unchanged'.
She said more detail was needed on which patients could be seen by PAs, and national clinical protocols will now be developed in this area.
Commenting on the Pulse survey, UMAP general secretary Stephen Nash said: 'Physician associates are highly trained medical professionals who play a vital role in improving patients' access to primary care, particularly in underserved parts of the health service.'
He added: 'According to this survey the vast majority of primary care networks are retaining their PA staff.
'This is a testament to PAs' hard work and expertise.'
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