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The British Medical Association and Anaesthetists Unite are launching legal action against the General Medical Council over the way it plans to regulate physician associates and other medical associate professions (MAPs).
The two groups are planning different but ‘complementary’ courses of legal action, with the BMA launching a judicial review claim against the GMC over its use of the term ‘medical professionals’ to describe both doctors and MAPs.
The BMA says using medical professionals to describe both doctors and MAPs ‘blurs the lines’ between highly skilled and experienced doctors and assistant roles.
Describing physician associates as medical professionals ‘undermines doctors’, says BMA
Physician and anaesthesia associates complete a two-year course rather than a five-year medical degree. Doctors have consistently reported their concerns regarding PAs, with nine in 10 saying the way they are currently employed poses a danger to patient safety.
Following these survey results, the BMA published the first guidance of its kind which set out a clear scope of practice so that MAPs, doctors and patients know that everyone in medical teams is being employed to do the tasks suitable for them.
The guidance clearly states that PAs should never be a ‘substitute for doctors’, and the BMA also has also called for a pause in their recruitment until it can be made clear that they can integrated into medical teams safely.
The BMA therefore says describing physician associates and other MAPs as medical professionals will confuse patients and undermine doctors and the rigorous training journey they have been on.
“The central and solemn responsibility of the GMC is to protect the public from those who are not registered qualified doctors, pretending to be doctors. It has become increasingly clear that broadening the term ‘medical professionals’ to include those without medical degrees has had the effect of making this task far harder, when recent experience has now shown that this represents a dangerous blurring of this critical distinction,” said Professor Philip Banfield, BMA council chair.
“We have had enough of the Government and NHS leadership eroding our profession, and alongside Anaesthetists United, we are standing up for both doctors and patients to block this ill-thought-through project before it leads to more unintended patient harm. It’s not too late to row back from this uncontrolled and ill-thought-out experiment in dumbing down the medical skills and expertise available to patients,” he added.
Anaesthetists United call on GMC to update national guidance on PAs
The legal action taken by Anaesthetists United, an independent group of grassroots anaesthetists, relates to the lack of any national regulation of scope of practice for physician and anaesthesia associates.
Anaesthetists United say the GMC is “simply ignoring the law on professional regulation”, and are calling for ‘clear and enforceable guidance’ from the GMC on PAs admitted to practice in clinical settings. This includes replacing the current ‘Good Medical Practice’ guidance with two separate sets of guidance for two separate professions.
The group have also echoed the BMA’s calls to end the use of the “ambiguous” term ‘medical professionals’ to describe both doctors and medical associate professions.
Dr Richard Marks, co-founder of Anaesthetists United, said: “Doctors and their patients are united over their opposition to the outgoing government’s plans for replacing doctors with Associates. Taking legal action seems to be the only way forward.”