Although this is good news, it has taken way too long to happen. It should not have happened in the first place.
> The Telegraph can reveal that the rotas at more than 30 hospitals show physician associates taking on doctors’ shifts.
> Ministers and NHS executives have repeatedly claimed that PAs and anaesthesia associates (AAs) are not being used to replace doctors.
> However, The Telegraph has seen leaked rotas and other documentation from 31 NHS hospitals in England that uncovers a widespread practice of placing non-medics on rotas traditionally reserved for doctors.
> Despite only receiving two years’ training and being unable to prescribe, both PAs and AAs can be seen picking up similar shifts to medics, in some cases reviewing patients independently.
> At 13 hospitals, doctors’ work appears interchangeable with those of associates, with **the A&E department at St George’s Hospital, in Tooting, London, advising that new junior doctors and PAs “can all swap with one another”.**
> The leaks show that 10 hospitals used PAs and AAs to fill gaps in the medic roster caused by sickness.
> Nine used them as on-call senior house officers (SHOs) – junior doctors with at least one year’s experience – and two even gave them emergency “bleeps” to respond to potentially life-threatening situations.
No words.
That they have to be told not to do this is just grim
Medicine is one of those areas you just don’t want corners cut
3 comments
Although this is good news, it has taken way too long to happen. It should not have happened in the first place.
> The Telegraph can reveal that the rotas at more than 30 hospitals show physician associates taking on doctors’ shifts.
> Ministers and NHS executives have repeatedly claimed that PAs and anaesthesia associates (AAs) are not being used to replace doctors.
> However, The Telegraph has seen leaked rotas and other documentation from 31 NHS hospitals in England that uncovers a widespread practice of placing non-medics on rotas traditionally reserved for doctors.
> Despite only receiving two years’ training and being unable to prescribe, both PAs and AAs can be seen picking up similar shifts to medics, in some cases reviewing patients independently.
> At 13 hospitals, doctors’ work appears interchangeable with those of associates, with **the A&E department at St George’s Hospital, in Tooting, London, advising that new junior doctors and PAs “can all swap with one another”.**
> The leaks show that 10 hospitals used PAs and AAs to fill gaps in the medic roster caused by sickness.
> Nine used them as on-call senior house officers (SHOs) – junior doctors with at least one year’s experience – and two even gave them emergency “bleeps” to respond to potentially life-threatening situations.
No words.
That they have to be told not to do this is just grim
Medicine is one of those areas you just don’t want corners cut