Physician associates ‘likely to be renamed’ after safety review

The Government-commissioned safety review of physician associates will reportedly conclude that their title should be changed to avoid patient confusion.

This morning, the Guardian reported that the Government is likely to accept Professor Gillian Leng’s review findings on a title change, which could lead to PAs being renamed ‘physician assistants’ – their original title in the UK up until 2013 – or ‘doctors’ assistants’.

In response, the BMA welcomed these reports, noting that it has ‘long called for the return of the name “assistant”’.

During engagement sessions in April, Professor Leng strongly hinted that the physician associate title could change, saying this is an issue which has ‘come across quite clearly from the relatives of people that have been involved in deaths related to the role of PA’.

She invited ideas for names from doctors, despite the fact that legal barriers would mean the name change is not ‘straightforward’.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it does not comment on speculation, but that it will consider Professor Leng’s findings in full.

Last month, DHSC confirmed to Pulse that the provisional target publication date for the PA review is the end of June.

DHSC also said the final report ‘aims to provide certainty and clarity for staff and patients’.

As well as the title for PAs, the review has also examined the safety of the role and how effectively it is deployed in the NHS as part of multidisciplinary teams. 

Throughout the review, GPs have been asked to provide both practice-level analysis or data on physician associates as well their own views and experiences of working with the role.

In its submission to the review, the BMA argued that using the title ‘physician’s assistant’ is ‘much more effective for patients in setting out where in the healthcare team’ the role sits. 

The doctors’ union has repeatedly made this argument, initially calling on the Government to change the name in 2023. 

Concerns about the physician associate title and potential patient confusion have also been raised in relation to patient deaths.

In February, a coroner’s prevention of future deaths report warned that physician associate title is ‘misleading to the public’, and also that there is a ‘lack of public understanding’ around the role. 

The report related to the death of Pamela Marking, a 77-year-old woman who died following care by a PA in an emergency department.

In response to the Guardian’s report this morning, a DHSC spokesperson said: ‘The Secretary of State asked Professor Gillian Leng to produce an independent review into PAs and AAs that will provide certainty to patients and staff across the NHS.

‘We will consider its findings in full once it has been completed.’