Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that the NHS and other services are following the prescribing standards stating that, from 13 December 2024, healthcare professionals working in designated physician associate or anaesthesia associate roles should not prescribe medicines, even if they hold prescribing rights from a previous profession or have previously been authorised to prescribe by their employer.

The physician associate (PA) and anaesthesia associate (AA) professions do not have prescribing responsibilities. Prescribing responsibilities are conferred upon specific professions by the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 and are not transferable to another regulated role or profession.

NHS Employers has recently published guidance which sets out information for employers on the PA and AA roles and how they fit within the National Health Service. This includes setting out information about prescribing and the supply and administering of medicines.

Subject to locally determined governance arrangements, a PA or AA may administer medicines under a patient specific direction (PSD). A PSD is a written instruction, signed by an authorised prescriber, for medicine or medicines to be administered to a named person after the prescriber has assessed the patient.

As the regulator of PAs and AAs, the General Medical Council has also published information on its website confirming that the roles are not able to prescribe.