Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to integrate (a) physician associates and (b) anaesthesia associates into the NHS workforce.

Physician associates (PA) and anaesthesia associates (AA) play an important role in multidisciplinary teams and complement the work of doctors. On 13 December 2023, the Department laid draft legislation in both Houses and in the Scottish Parliament that will empower the General Medical Council (GMC) to commence regulation for the two roles by the end of 2024.

Regulation will provide a standardised framework of governance and assurance for clinical practice and professional conduct, to enable these roles to make a greater contribution to patient care. Ahead of regulation, the GMC has published advice for PAs, AAs and doctors who supervise them.

The Faculty of PAs and the Royal College of Anaesthetists have developed guidance setting out the processes and considerations required for employers and supervisors of PAs and AAs respectively. In addition, NHS England has produced patient-facing materials that have been shared widely with general practices to support patient awareness and understanding of the PA role.

The NHS Long term workforce plan sets out plans to increase the number of PAs and AAs to establish a workforce of 10,000 and 2,000 respectively by 2036/37. NHS England is working with the relevant professional colleges and regulators, to ensure the PA and AA roles are expanded safely and effectively as part of multidisciplinary, integrated teams serving patients across the National Health Service.