Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October to Question 84069 on Physician Assistants, if his Department will set out a timeline for reviewing existing guidance for employers.

NHS England is currently considering next steps for supporting the wider National Health Service and relevant stakeholders to implement the recommendations of the Leng Review, starting with those focused on patient safety, as requested by the Government.

We will continue to work closely and collaboratively with partners across the NHS, the clinical professions, and their representative bodies so that patients receive safe, effective, and compassionate care in line with the relevant legal and clinical processes. As part of this, NHS England will be working with NHS Employers over the coming months, supported by colleagues in the regions, to consider what guidance and support can be provided to the system to implement those recommendations related to the employment of physician assistants.

As further information to support implementation of the recommendations is available, it will be published at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/response-to-recommendations-from-the-independent-review-of-physician-associates-and-anaesthesia-associates/