Patients should be assessed by a GP before being seen by an associate doctor to reduce the risk of harm, according to the new guidelines.
PAs are also advised to explain that they are not doctors when introducing themselves and to wear clear badges.
The recommendations from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) follow a vote by its council to oppose the role of PAs in general practice due to fears for patient safety.
PAs only need to take a two-year postgraduate healthcare course rather than a medical degree. Their role is to “support doctors in diagnosing and treating patients” in doctors’ offices and hospitals. However, they came under scrutiny following the death of Emily Chesterton, from Salford, who was misdiagnosed by a PA she thought was a doctor and suffered a pulmonary embolism in 2022 aged 30.
It comes as the British Medical Association (BMA) yesterday demanded that GP practices receive an additional 35% funding per patient in order to cancel industrial action. The strikes have caused some family doctors to halve the number of appointments they offer.
Associate doctors are also advised to explain that they are not doctors when introducing themselves and to wear clear badges.
The recommendations from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) follow a vote by its council to oppose the role of PAs in general practice due to fears for patient safety
It comes as the British Medical Association (BMA) yesterday demanded that GP practices receive an additional 35 per cent funding per patient in order to cancel industrial action
The extra £40 per patient per year would cost up to £2.5 billion and could be used to increase the clinic's profits. The BMA admitted that this alone would not be enough to end the dispute. It also called for a new GP contract that would reduce members' workload.
The RCGP said its new guidance on PAs is intended to be a “practical resource” for GPs and practices, which employ around 2,000 of them.
RCGP president Professor Kamila Hawthorne said: 'There are too many PAs who we feel are not being supervised and not trained to identify who has something seriously wrong and who has not.'
The guidelines suggest that PAs should first see only patients who have been screened by a family physician and should always work under the supervision of a physician. PAs must wear “clearly visible badges” and ensure patients understand they are not doctors. And when scheduling appointments, the guidelines say patients should be able to discuss who they would like to see.
In June, a survey of RCGP members revealed that 81 per cent thought the use of PAs in general practice could negatively affect patient safety. They recommend that PAs entering general practice prepare with an additional one-year transition program.
An NHS spokesperson said: “We have always been clear about the role that medical associates play. They do not replace doctors, but support teams in specific tasks for which they have been trained, under supervision.'
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: 'We have already started hiring 1,000 more GPs for the NHS and invested £311m in GP practices.'
