Who is a qualified medic? Nearly one in four Brits do not know the difference between a physician associate and doctor, poll reveals By Colin Fernandez, Science Correspondent Published: 00:03 BST, 22 July 2024 | Updated: 00:03 BST, 22 July 2024 e-mail View comments Nearly one in four people does not know the difference between a physician associate and a doctor, according to a poll. While 52 per cent of Britons can differentiate between the two roles, some 23 per cent said they did not know the difference. Healthwatch England, which commissioned the poll, has called for more clarity around the role of physician associates.
The NHS 's Long Term Workforce plans sets out an ambition to establish a workforce of 10,000 physician associates by 2036/37. PAs are a relatively new profession that was introduced in the health service from 2003. Nearly one in four people does not know the difference between a physician associate and a doctor, according to a poll Three in five adults said during their last NHS appointment, the person providing their care clearly explained their role, according to a survey conducted by Savanta on 1,677 people across England (file pic) Around 4,000 physician associates work in the NHS in England.
They are medically trained and work alongside doctors and nurses, and perform similar tasks to a doctor but do not have the same medical training that a doctor goes through. Read More How hospitals are using underqualified physician associates because there aren't enough real doctors Medical associate professions, also known as MAPs, have been under increased scrutiny after the death of Emily Chesterton, 30, in November 2022. She had been under the impression she was seeing a GP, but was actually seen twice by a physician associate, who failed on both occasions to spot that her leg pain and breathlessness was a blood clot, which ultimately travelled to her lungs.
Writing in Pulse magazine, Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, said: 'The need for clarity on the role of PAs came across strongly in reports from local Healthwatch. 'Some local Healthwatch (organisations) explained that while patients might have heard of PAs and understood that they were not doctors, people's understanding what they can and can't do is more limited. 'In many cases, patients needed to be made aware of the local presence of PAs, and often only found out about the role when given an appointment with a PA.
'In some instances, patients had specially asked to see a doctor but were assigned to see a PA instead. 'Where people knew they had received care from a PA, their experiences tended to be positive. People particularly valued that a PA could provide care when they needed it.
' Writing in Pulse magazine, Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, said it was important for patients to know who is treating them Three in five adults said that during their last NHS appointment, the person providing their care clearly explained their role, according to a survey conducted by Savanta on 1,677 people across England. Ms Ansari added: 'People think it's important to know who is treating them, and NHS staff are meant to identify themselves.' An NHS England spokesman said: 'We recently published summary guidance for trusts to set out the expectations on the deployment of medical associate professionals to ensure clarity of responsibilities, and expectations around safety, accountability and transparency.
'We are working with Healthwatch and the Patients Association on producing materials for patients and the public to explain the roles of medical associate professionals and will continue to work with organisations ahead of the GMC regulation coming into effect at the end of the year.' A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: 'Physician associates have played an important role in the NHS for over two decades, but we are clear they should be supporting, not replacing, doctors and receive the appropriate level of supervision by healthcare organisations.' NHS Share or comment on this article: Who is a qualified medic? Nearly one in four Brits do not know the difference between a physician associate and doctor, poll reveals e-mail Add comment.
