Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department issues to GP surgeries on (a) the scope of practice and (b) supervision protocols for employed physician associates; and whether she has made an assessment of the quality of different working arrangements for physician associates in GP surgeries across England.

Physician associates (PA) and anaesthesia associates (AA) play an important role in multidisciplinary teams and complement the work of doctors. On 13 December 2023, the Department laid draft legislation in both Houses and in the Scottish Parliament that will empower the General Medical Council (GMC) to commence regulation for the two roles by the end of 2024.

Regulation will provide a standardised framework of governance and assurance for clinical practice and professional conduct, to enable these roles to make a greater contribution to patient care. Ahead of regulation, the GMC has published advice for PAs, AAs and doctors who supervise them.

The Faculty of Physician Associates (PFAs) and the Royal College of Anaesthetists have developed guidance setting out the processes and considerations required for employers and supervisors of PAs and AAs respectively. In addition, NHS England has produced patient-facing materials that have been shared widely with general practices (GPs) to support patient awareness and understanding of the PA role.

PAs work within a defined scope of practice and limits of competence. The FPA provides professional support to PAs across the United Kingdom and review and set standards for the education and training of PAs.

The FPA will be able to give further information on scope of practice and supervision requirements.

NHS England has committed to a review of the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). This work will cover the performance of the scheme to date and inform the Government’s approach to any future support for additional clinical roles in general practice.

In addition, the Department has funded, via the National Institute of Health and Care Research a project to look at the impact of non-GP staff in practices on patient care.