Review recommends steps taken to distinguish PAs from doctors

The review recommends PAs wear clothing and badges that make a clear distinction from doctors, and they should also not diagnose patients.

Professor Gillian Leng, who conducted the review, concluded that a clear vision “was largely missing” when the positions were created in 2000, and that there is “confusion about the roles’ purpose and remit”.

The review recommends that physician associates should:

• be renamed physician assistants, to make clear they are not diagnosing professionals
• not see new patients in GP settings or emergency care, and should not make a diagnosis
• have at least two years' hospital experience before working in a GP surgery or mental health trust
• be part of a team led by a senior doctor
• wear badges, lanyards and clothing to distinguish them from doctorsCalls for action around the role of PAs in the NHS have been growing after they were linked to a number of deaths, including that of 30-year-old Emily Chesterton, who died after seeing a PA she believed to be a GP. The unsupervised PA failed to recognise the pain in her calf was in fact a life-threatening blood clot.Law firm Slater and Gordon acts for patients across the country who have been impacted by poor standards of care, and has called for action in making clear physician associates are not doctors."Confusion around the role of physician associates and the limits of what they can and should be doing has had the most devastating consequences, so we welcome the findings of the review and the fact efforts will now be made to make clear they are not doctors. We believe this is strongly in patients' interests,” says Nadia Saber, senior associate in clinical negligence."However there is still a lack of clarity around the roles they should be playing in patient care, clearly stating the situations where they should and should not be involved.Patient welfare is the absolute priority and all efforts should be made to ensure they are given appropriate care by the most suitable professionals."· If you or your family have been affected by poor standards of care or negligence, our team of specialists can help. Call us on 0330 041 5869 or contact us online.