It follows the vote by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to oppose the role of physician associates (PAs) working in general practice, which has been welcomed by DAUK’s GP Committee.

DAUK is proud to announce its robust support for Anaesthetists United in their legal case against the GMC, which addresses critical issues surrounding the regulation of PAs and AAs.

This backing includes a £30,000 contribution to their crowdfunding efforts, underscoring the medical profession’s deep-seated concerns over patient safety and professional standards.

Now it is calling on royal colleges to also give their support to the legal challenge.

Why DAUK supports this legal challenge

DAUK shares the grave concerns that the current regulatory framework fails to adequately safeguard patient safety and maintain the high standards of medical practice that the British public expects and deserves.

Ms Helen Fernandes, DAUK chair, said: “The GMC’s approach to regulating PAs and AAs is fundamentally flawed.

“It risks blurring the lines between fully qualified doctors and support staff, potentially misleading patients and compromising care quality.

“We categorically back Anaesthetists United in demanding clear, enforceable guidance on the scope of practice for these roles.”

United front

DAUK’s significant donation to the Anaesthetists United legal fund is not an isolated action but part of a broader united front in the medical community.

Recent events, including the Royal College of General Practitioners’ revised stance on PA regulation and the Emergency General Meeting at the Royal College of Physicians, demonstrate that concerns over these issues are widespread and deeply felt.

Dr Matt Kneale, DAUK committee member and former chair, said: “The strength of feeling across the medical profession cannot be overstated.

“These are not isolated incidents of discontent but a clear signal that the current trajectory of medical regulation and workforce planning is deeply troubling to those on the front lines of patient care.”

Call to action

In light of these developments, DAUK calls upon all royal colleges to take decisive action:

1. Contribute financially to the Anaesthetists United crowdfunding campaign.

2. Publicly back the medical profession’s stance on this critical issue.

3. Prioritise patient safety by advocating for standards to be set by the regulator, not by individual NHS trusts or GP practices.

Dr Kneale said: “The variation in standards across different healthcare settings has already led to concerning safety events.

“It’s time for our professional bodies to unite in demanding a consistent, high-quality approach to regulation that puts patient safety first.”

Dr David Nicholl, fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and DAUK committee member, said: “As a former member of RCP Council, I would like to see the RCP backing this case.

“The RCP has already publicly stated that there should be national scope which the GMC are refusing to do.

“It’s time for all royal colleges to put their money where their mouth is and support this legal challenge against the GMC’s intransigence. This is about safe patient care.”

RCGP vote

Meanwhile, DAUK’s GP Committee has welcomed a vote by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to oppose a role for physician associates (PAs) from working in general practice.

The RCGP’s UK Council voted 61 per cent in favour of opposing the role of PAs working in general practice, with 31 disagreeing and eight per cent abstaining.

Dr Ellen Welch, DAUK vice chair and member of the DAUK GP committee, said: “We agree with the RCGP Council’s decision to end the further expansion of PAs in general practice.

“This is not about PAs as individuals but about patient safety.

“They should not have been allowed to consult undifferentiated patients and, in our view, it was always unsafe for patients.

“The complexity of patient care, the needs of patients, and the safety of patient care must always be a priority.

“GPs are highly-skilled clinicians who have trained for 10 years to have the depth and breadth of knowledge essential to care for the complexity of patients seen in general practice.

“It is essential that patients are able to consult with GPs, therefore we urge NHS England and the Government to make the retention and recruitment of GPs a priority.”

Looking forward

DAUK remains committed to supporting initiatives that protect patients and the integrity of the medical profession. We will continue to monitor the progress of the Anaesthetists United case closely and are ready to take further action as necessary.

For more information on how to support this crucial legal challenge, please visit the Anaesthetists United CrowdJustice page.

Support the work of DAUK by signing up as a member.

Dr Nicholl was speaking after the publication of a damning independent review into the RCP’s handling of an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) called to discuss PAs.

A group of RCP fellows, including Dr Nicholl, had called the EGM to challenge the college’s position on PAs, concerned about scope of practice, accountability, impact on doctors’ workloads and training opportunities, and patient safety.

Significant concerns were raised by several college members following the EGM about the presentation of information at the meeting and the conduct of people taking part.

In response, the King’s Fund, a health think tank, was commissioned to examine the events leading up to the EGM, the running of the EGM, and the relevant activities after the meeting.

Failure in leadership

Its report found ‘a range of collective failures in leadership’, ‘a clear lack of accountability and due process’, and ‘a pervasive lack of trust and confidence in the College’s governance’.

Dr Nicholl, a consultant neurologist, said: “The RCP failed to listen to the concerns of fellows over issues that DAUK was raising from last summer.

“At the time it was brushed off as social media noise but we know that’s not true.

“The delays in having the EGM meant that Parliament wasn’t properly informed when it passed legislation for the GMC to regulate PAs in March – without a vote, which is crazy.

“It’s a failure of governance at the RCP, but it’s also a failure to properly inform parliamentarians before they put a law through without a vote, which has hugely let down doctors and the public. It’s a mess.”

Dr Nicholl also responded to the report in an article in the BMJ, alongside RCP fellows Martin McKee, professor of European Public Health; Trisha Greenhalgh, professor of Primary Care Health Sciences; Asif Qasim, consultant cardiologist; and Nicholas S Hopkinson, professor of Respiratory Medicine.

Serious issue

They wrote: “Crucially, delays in setting up the EGM meant that by the time it was held, the Statutory Instrument had already been passed by Parliament.

“As the inquiry found, ‘had the EGM been held before that point, the concerns raised would have been fed into the parliamentary process and may have affected the passage of the legislation’ (page 18).

“The missed opportunity to influence Parliamentary discussion on the role and regulation of physician associates in a way that reflected the concerns of its membership is among the most serious issues faced by the college in its 500-year history.”

In response, the RCP said it accepts the report and recommendations in full.

Senior censor and vice president for education and training, Dr Mumtaz Patel, who is acting as RCP president, said: “This King’s Fund report is important and sobering reading for all of us at the RCP. It shows how, as a leadership team, we must refocus on our core purpose – putting physicians first. We must review the way that we work if we want to be a high-performing and responsive membership organisation for physicians in the future.

Honest and open

“The report highlights an organisation that was neither listening, nor responding quickly enough, to the questions and concerns being raised by its fellows and members. It points to the need for improvements in our culture, governance, processes and the way that we represent physicians of all generations. It calls for a more honest and open relationship with our membership, and one that welcomes constructive challenge rather than avoiding it.

“Today is a moment for review, reset and refocus in all that we do. We owe this to our fellows and members, our staff and our volunteers. We hear loud and clear how we need to lead rather than respond to others’ agendas. The entire leadership team is committed to reflecting, changing and benefiting from external support to make these improvements happen.”

Read Dr Nicholls’s article in full.

Read the King’s Fund report.

Support the work of DAUK, sign up as a member.

Dr Nicholl was speaking after an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) held to debate issues related to PAs.

The debate was on five motions covering scope of practice, accountability, evaluation, the impact on training opportunities, and the pace and scale of the roll-out of PAs.

Dr Nicholl, RCP fellow and consultant neurologist, spoke in the debate and pointed out governance issues relating to the motions and what will be done if they pass.

“We’re pushing for all five motions to be passed and I don’t think the officers were reading the room,” he said.

“Everyone agreed with the first four motions, which is precisely why we need all five motions to pass.

“It’s illogical for the college to support motions one to four, but oppose motion five to limit the pace and scale of the roll-out until the issues of regulation, standards, and scope of practice are addressed.

“It really is time to take the foot off the accelerator.”

Dr Nicholl added: “I pointed out governance issue after governance issue with regard to what’s happening now in relation to motions one to four, that they agree with.

“But no-one said what we’re going to do about it, and what’s going to happen if motion five passes. Is anyone actually going to do anything?

“It’s a challenge.”

Dr Nicholl thanked DAUK members for completing a survey about PAs last year, which has formed the basis for a lot of campaigning and media work.

And he thanked RCP fellows who contributed to his talk during the EGM.

He said: “I’m immensely proud of what we’ve done but equally I’m extremely anxious about what happens next.

“I was neutral on this until last summer and it was only when DAUK did a survey of our members across the country alerted me that, Houston, we have a problem.

“So a huge thank you to every DAUK member that completed that survey.

“I’ve had nearly 50 FRCPs who inputted into my slides.

“I only had a 12 minute talk to cover five motions and there was a real breadth of expertise in that.”

The vote closes at 7.30pm on Wednesday 20 March and results of the fellows’ vote will be announced on 25 March.

The RCP said: “They will then be discussed by RCP Council at an additional meeting in April and the Board of Trustees in June, where any necessary action plans will be developed. We will update RCP fellows and members on the next steps as soon as we can.”