Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent guidance her Department has issued to NHS Trusts on the scope of practice for physician associates; and whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of amending this scope of practice.

Physician associates (PAs) work within a defined scope of practice and limits of competence, aligned to an established curriculum, under the supervision of a designated senior doctor. Their detailed scope of practice in a given setting is circumscribed by that of the supervising doctor.

On 13 December 2023, the department laid draft legislation in both Houses and in the Scottish Parliament that, subject to parliamentary scrutiny, will empower the General Medical Council (GMC) to commence regulation of PAs by the end of 2024.

Regulation will provide a standardised framework of governance and assurance for clinical practice and professional conduct and define the capabilities required of newly qualified PAs. PAs will also be required to follow the duties set out in in the GMC’s Good medical practice 2024, including practising only within their competence.

Ahead of regulation, the GMC and the Faculty of PAs at the Royal College of Physicians have issued guidance for PAs, supervisors, employers and organisations to help provide a structured and standardised way of using the PA role. NHS England is also working with National Health Service trusts and professional bodies to encourage them to set out how the PA scope of practice and role can further develop after initial qualification.