A survey has found that more than half of patients do not know what a ‘junior physician’ is, despite NHS plans to provide them with more care.
Doctors are opposing the mass deployment of PAs in GP practices and hospitals, warning that these assistants are inadequately trained and endanger patients.
There are already more than 3,500 troops stationed in England, with plans to train another 1,000 each year, bringing the total to 10,000 within 12 years.
The employees do not have medical training, but are typically expected to have a science degree or clinical qualification before beginning a two-year postgraduate training program to become a physician associate.
Their duties include taking medical histories and performing physical examinations.
More than half of patients do not know what a ‘junior physician’ is, despite NHS plans to provide them with more care, a survey has found (file image)
Doctors are opposing a mass rollout of PAs in GP practices and hospitals, warning they are undertrained and putting patients at risk (file image)
However, some universities offering the course have admitted that they will accept students with first degrees in, for example, geography, human resources and English literature.
An Ipsos survey of 1,127 people aged 16 and over found that 57 percent had either never heard of PAs or had heard of the role but knew nothing about it.
For comparison, 3 percent said they knew a lot about PAs, while 15 percent said they knew a fair amount and 22 percent said they knew a little.
PAs have come under fire after high-profile mistakes, including the death of 30-year-old Emily Chesterton, who was twice misdiagnosed by a PA and eventually died of a blood clot in 2022.
Leading GPs said it was important for people to have more information about physician assistants, stressing that it should be clear to patients treated by them that they are not doctors.
The British Medical Association (BMA) also warned that “efforts to reduce waiting lists must not be at the expense of patient safety”.
However, only a quarter of respondents indicated that at every appointment in the past year they were aware of the role of the healthcare professional they dealt with in their practice, whether this was a GP, nurse or PA.
About 23 percent indicated they usually know the role, 19 percent sometimes, 11 percent rarely, and 4 percent answered never.
The majority of people (77 percent) indicated that they find it important to know the role of the employee they are dealing with.
An Ipsos survey of 1,127 people aged 16 and over found that 57 percent had either never heard of PAs or had heard of the role but knew nothing about it (file image)
Only a quarter of respondents said they were aware of the role of the healthcare professional they dealt with in their practice, whether this was a GP, nurse or PA, at every appointment in the past year (file image)
After being given a brief description of the role, 40 per cent of respondents said the NHS should use the funding to recruit and train more PAs to support GPs, reducing the waiting time for an appointment, even if a patient is less likely to visit their GP.
By comparison, 30 per cent of people agreed that the NHS should hire fewer GPs so that patients would be more likely to see a doctor, even if they had to wait longer.
The roles of medical assistants (MAPs), including PAs and nurse anaesthetists (AAs), were introduced into the NHS workforce in the early 2000s to improve access to care for patients.
Professor Phil Banfield, chair of the BMA council, added: ‘It is extremely worrying, but not at all surprising, that so many people know so little about physician associates, even though they work in GP practices and hospitals across the country.
‘PAs are not the same as physicians. They should always work under the close supervision of a physician and should never be used in their place.
‘We believe that PAs should only treat patients who have already been selected by a GP who has undergone many years of additional training. Efforts to reduce waiting lists should not be at the expense of patient safety.
The Royal College of GPs said it was a ‘red line’ that patients should know ‘if they are being treated by a physician associate, what their role is and that they are not a doctor’ (file image)
‘It takes over 10 years to become a GP. PAs study for two years and although they play a role in the NHS, they should not be used as a replacement for qualified staff.’
Elsewhere, 62 percent of respondents said they found the availability of GP appointments for non-urgent conditions, which are typically booked in advance, to be poor.
More than half (55 percent) said the availability of emergency appointments was also poor.
Dr Victoria Tzortziou-Brown, Vice-Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: ‘This survey highlights the importance of providing patients with more information about this role. It also needs to be clear to any patient who is treated by a physician assistant what their role is and that they are not a doctor. This is one of the College’s key priorities for PAs working in general practice.
‘GPs are just as frustrated as our patients when they struggle to access our care and services.
‘Simply recruiting other healthcare professionals, including PAs, into general practice should not be seen as the solution.’
An NHS spokesperson said: ‘The NHS has always been clear about the role that physician associates play in supporting clinical teams to deliver high-quality care to patients. They are not replacements for doctors, but support them in specific tasks for which they are trained, under supervision.’