Getty ImagesJulia’s first four years as a physician associate were everything she hoped they would be. After working in the NHS for the best part of a decade in a non-patient facing role, she was delighted to be on the wards supporting doctors and the wider healthcare teams.“I loved the contact I had with patients, assessing them and playing a part in their care. I felt supported and part of a team.”That all changed about a year ago. “Suddenly we came under attack. Doctors in the radiology department started refusing to talk to me about scans and others have been saying we don’t deserve to get paid what we do.“The atmosphere has totally changed. We’ve even stopped going into the canteen as we were being made to feel uncomfortable.”’Destructive situation’Julia is far from alone. United Medical Associate Professionals (UMAPs), a body which represents physician (PAs) and anaesthesia associate (AAs), says there are countless examples like this with staff facing bullying and being sidelined.The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, which represents senior doctors in the NHS, has warned the whole situation has become so “destructive” that it is damaging teamwork across hospitals and GP surgeries where PAs and AAs work.It has cited the particularly acrimonious debate on social media, which has seen regular attacks about the pay and professionalism of PAs and AAs as well as discussions about how they can be undermined in the workplace.This week the Health Secretary Wes Streeting decided he needed to act, ordering a review into PAs and AAs in England to resolve what he said had become a “toxic” row.So how has it come to this, with doctors turning against the very people brought in to support them?The PA role is hardly new in the NHS – it has been around for 20 years, helping doctors by doing tasks such as taking medical histories and carrying out examinations.What has changed is the speed at which they are being recruited – over the last seven years the numbers have gone from a few hundred to 3,500 currently with a target of 12,000, including AAs, by 2036.’More of a hindrance than a help’As the numbers have been increasing doctors have become concerned the lines between professions are getting blurred.Sam is five years into his training and works alongside PAs in a hospital in the south west. “They are more of a hindrance than a help,” he says. “They’re being placed on rotas instead of doctors – but there are things they cannot do so doctors end up having to double up.“And for those doctors at the very start of training having PAs on a ward can actually limit their exposure to some of the medical tasks that should be part of their learning. We’ve had enough.”The doctors’ union, the British Medical Association (BMA), is so concerned it now wants the rollout to be paused while the review takes place.It says PAs and AAs, who need to complete a two-year master’s following a first degree, which is normally bioscience-related, are being asked to do tasks they are not meant to and filling in for doctors. It argues this is putting patients at risk.Family handoutTo back up …
