NHS Employers responds to the government announcing a review of physician and associate roles

Responding to the Health and Social Care Secretary’s announcement of an independent review of physician associates and anaesthesia associates, Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, said:

“Leaders in the NHS, independent care and medical representative organisations have struggled to find constructive and coherent ways to respond to the public’s concerns about the clinical work of physician and anaesthesia associates who make up a small proportion of the sector’s overall workforce. At times, the responses have lacked courtesy and compassion, particularly for those in these professions.  

“The intervention by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is therefore a welcome one. Professor Gillian Leng has widely respected credentials as an evidence-based clinician and leader, and her review provides an opportunity to take a careful examination of these roles, particularly in light of their forthcoming regulation by the General Medical Council.”