Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government why the NHS England’s Network Contract Directed Enhanced Service specifies that physician associates employed under the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme have key responsibility for providing first point of contact care for patients presenting with undifferentiated, undiagnosed problems.

Physician Associates have been part of the National Health Service workforce for a number of years. They are an important part of clinical teams across the NHS, providing support to thousands of patients every day, under the supervision of doctors.

The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme provides funding for a number of additional roles, including Physician Associates, to help create bespoke, multi-disciplinary teams. All these roles are in place to assist general practice (GP) doctors in reducing their workload and assisting patients directly with their needs, allowing doctors to focus on more complex patients and other priorities, including continuity of care. Physician Associates work alongside GPs and the wider practice team to provide care as part of the multidisciplinary team.