The Department of Health & Social Care's project to rapidly expand medical associate professions, particularly physician associates, has sparked significant controversy among doctors. Many medical professionals, including junior doctor Eilidh and Dr. Helen Salisbury, have expressed concerns that the initiative is an attempt to replace doctors with less highly trained staff. The debate has highlighted differing opinions on the role of physician associates, with some arguing that they help doctors rather than replace them. Dr. Helen Salisbury described the plan as 'offensive, Tom.' The British Medical Journal has noted that while most GPs welcome a shift away from replacing experts with less trained staff, there is a need to understand how this situation arose.
"While most GPs will welcome the tide turning against the replacement of experts at medicine’s front line with much less highly trained staff, we should also be asking how we got here." @HelenRSalisbury on the latest on physician associates https://t.co/8t1AKNXZxB
How physician associates are helping doctors, not replacing them | Doctors | The Guardian - responses to an article on concerns about the role of these healthcare professionals. https://t.co/8Bk37qvWQ1
'It's actually quite offensive, Tom.' Dr Helen Salisbury and @TomSwarbrick1 debate whether we should be concerned about the use of physician associates in place of GPs. https://t.co/Dgzvcdervp
“I genuinely think that they're slowly trying to replace doctors…” Junior doctor Eilidh calls @mrjamesob to express her concern with the expansion of 'physician associates' in the NHS. https://t.co/4MQ4JreK1b
The Department of Health & Social Care’s project to rapidly expand medical associate professions - the largest group of which are termed physician associates - has left many doctors aghast. The plan itself has been described as one of the most singularly dishonest, duplicitous… https://t.co/jLUiJcytdh