DAUK\u2019s Dr David Nicholl has described the vote to pass all five motions in the extraordinary general meeting of the Royal College of Physician (RCP) as a \u2018landmark result\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In only the third EGM in the RCP\u2019s 505-year history, fellows voted on five motions covering scope of practice, accountability, evaluation, the impact on training opportunities, and the pace and scale of the roll-out of physician associates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The results were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Motion 1 on scope of practice was passed with 96.9% of the vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Motion 2 on accountability was passed with 95.6% of the vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Motion 3 on evaluation was passed with 96.1% of the vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Motion 4 on training opportunities was passed with 95.9% of the vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Motion 5 on caution in pace and scale of roll-out was passed with 78.7% of the vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Nicholl, RCP fellow and consultant neurologist in the West Midlands, told BBC radio listeners it was a vote to ensure the safety of patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking on BBC Hereford and Worcester, he said: \u201cImagine this morning you go to your GP, you could potentially be seeing someone with two years\u2019 experience at college or university rather than an experienced GP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe felt that was a real clinical risk to patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo this is a landmark change, to take our foot off the accelerator and say that if we\u2019re going to introduce this, let\u2019s introduce this safely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Legislation bringing the PA role under GMC regulation passed through the House of Lords last month, despite attempts to kill it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Doctors\u2019 Association UK (DAUK) has opposed regulation of PAs by the GMC and has called for a pause on the roll-out of PAs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The association has long-standing concerns that the legislation will blur the roles of doctors and non-doctors, creating a misunderstanding of the role of PAs and presenting a significant risk to patient safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Nicholl added: \u201cThere are many excellent PAs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe point is they aren\u2019t doctors and their scope and range of practice must be defined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen too many examples across the country where we\u2019ve seen they\u2019ve been filling in doctors\u2019 rotas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe most extreme examples, which were mentioned in the House of Lords, were two cases that came to criminal court of non-accidental injury where a physician associate was acting as an expert witness and was introduced to the court as a member of the Royal College of Physicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey were neither a doctor nor a member of the RCP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe implication was there was a huge risk of a miscarriage of justice there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Nicholl said he hoped the vote would allow the PA roles to be defined in scope and supervision to help them work safely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is all such a big change,\u201d he said. \u201cThey do need regulating which is coming at the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe challenge now is making sure it\u2019s done properly and there\u2019s a proper timeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Until yesterday, this was all going to go on a wink and a nod, whereas we\u2019re saying we have to get the curriculum, we have to get the scope, we have to get the supervision sorted out for all 46 specialities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not possible by the end of the year, so we need to find a way for PAs and most importantly for patients.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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