Revealed: How hospitals are using 'underqualified' physician associates to treat the seriously ill and pregnant because there aren't enough real doctors By Ethan Ennals Published: 21:24 EDT, 13 July 2024 | Updated: 21:24 EDT, 13 July 2024 e-mail View comments Hospitals are flouting NHS rules by allowing staff with as little as two years' training to treat expectant mothers and stroke victims in place of doctors, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. In a move described as a 'huge potential threat to patient safety', a number of NHS hospitals are routinely using physician associates (PAs) to cover doctors' shifts. A PA is an NHS worker with no medical degree who is meant only to assist doctors and nurses.
They are not qualified to diagnose patients, prescribe drugs or order scans, and are meant to be supervised by a doctor. But an investigation carried out by this newspaper has uncovered dozens of cases where hospitals have used PAs to cover for a lack of doctors in departments including gynaecology and A&E. This is against NHS guidance.
In 2022, Emily Chesterton, 30, died after a PA failed to spot a blood clot. The actress was seen twice by a PA, who told her she had anxiety and long Covid In one of the most worrying cases, PAs have covered for doctors at the Blackpool Victoria Hospital stroke ward 14 times since the beginning of the year. According to a Freedom of Information request, the hospital has also allowed PAs to cover doctors' shifts in A&E.
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