Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates: Regulation

Monday 11th December 2023 Written Statements

[The Minister for Health and Secondary Care (Andrew Stephenson)]

Today I am pleased to announce that we published the response to the Government’s consultation on the legislation that will empower the General Medical Council to regulate anaesthesia associate and physician associate roles.

This is an important step towards UK-wide statutory regulation of anaesthesia associates and physician associates under the GMC. The Government intend to lay the necessary legislation in both Houses. The legislation will also be laid before the Scottish Parliament.

Physician associates work under the supervision of doctors, taking medical histories, carrying out physical examinations, performing some medical procedures and analysing test results. Anaesthesia associates review patients before surgery, initiate and manage medications, administer fluids and blood therapy during surgery, and ensure that there is a plan for patients following their operation. Both roles can work autonomously, but always under the supervision of a fully trained and experienced doctor.

Earlier this year NHS England published its long-term workforce plan—the first of its kind in the history of the NHS—which included the ambition to grow medical associate roles as part of multidisciplinary teams. The plan commits to increasing the physician associate workforce to 10,000 by 2036-37 and the anaesthesia associate workforce to 2,000 over the same period.

Regulation will provide a standardised framework of governance and assurance for clinical practice and professional conduct in order to enable these roles to make a greater contribution to patient care. The GMC will have responsibility for and oversight of both doctors and these medical associate roles, allowing it to take a holistic approach to education, training and standards.

These two medical associate roles will be the first to be regulated under a reformed legislative framework. We will subsequently be using this framework to modernise all healthcare professional regulators’ governing legislation, following the Law Commission’s report, “Regulation of Health and Social Care Professionals”.

Subject to parliamentary scrutiny, this legislation will instruct the GMC to commence regulation in 12 months, requiring it to consult on its own rules, policies and guidance needed to begin regulation of these associate roles.

The response to the consultation has been published on www.gov.uk and I have deposited a copy in the Libraries of both Houses.

[HCWS113]