The cut-price doctor will see you now: Health chiefs raise safety fears over plans to recruit doctor associates with only two years’ training to fill chronic staff shortages in NHS
Plans to recruit an army of low-cost doctors to plug gaps in Scotland’s crisis-hit NHS have raised safety concerns.
There are already almost 150 doctors working in the Scottish health service with just two years of training.
Now NHS bosses are considering expanding the role of “physician assistants” to plug gaps in the frontline workforce.
However, the British Medical Association (BMA) has warned that relying on the “cheaper option” of medics who are not fully qualified doctors could pose a “risk” to those using the NHS.
Physician interns earn about a third of a consultant’s salary and work in family practices or hospital departments, where they diagnose medical conditions, analyze test results, assist with rounds and perform some minor procedures.
There are concerns that the recruitment of medical assistants will be used to fill gaps in the NHS workforce, diagnosing medical conditions in GP practices or hospital departments, analyzing test results, assisting with ward rounds and carrying out some minor procedures
The General Medical Council expects the number of these courses to increase. There are currently 36 universities offering courses for doctors, including the University of Aberdeen. Dr. Ian
Kennedy, chairman of the BMA Scottish Council, said: “This is an issue of great concern to members of all sectors of the medical profession.”
“The principles with which we approach the matter are completely clear. They are based on the value and necessity of medical training to become a doctor, which must not be jeopardized by the pursuit of cheaper options.
“Patients also need to know whether they are actually speaking to a doctor or other healthcare professional.”
Faced with a shortage of doctors, medical staff have been brought into the NHS, with plans to increase their numbers to meet increasing demand for staff.
However, according to the BMA, patients may not know whether they are being treated by a specialist or a doctor.
Scotland’s BMA council passed a motion saying work must begin “immediately” to “either abolish or change the roles to ensure their scope of practice does not have a negative impact on doctors of any grade.” .
The Scottish surgeon Dr. Zubir Ahmed, potential Labor candidate for Glasgow South West, said: “The introduction of junior doctors was done without regard to the safety-critical established precedents of regulation and definition of the specialty.”
He added: “I can’t recall the Scottish or UK governments ever asking for the views of patients or NHS experts about what impact this might have on standards of care.”
A spokesman for the Royal College of Physicians said: “There is an even more pressing need for regulation given the long-term workforce plan which recommends expanding the number of Medical Associate Professionals (MAPs). “It is becoming increasingly clear that the health and care workforce who Patients and the public need more clarity about the role and scope of practice of MAP.”
Junior doctors earn up to £46,000 a year, compared to around £128,000 for a consultant. They can perform procedures such as lumbar punctures – injections into the spine – and intravenous cannulas.
But NHS Education for Scotland is currently introducing a health professionals commission.
This follows the publication of the NHS Recovery Plan in 2021, which committed to expanding the workforce.
The NHS in England plans to increase the number of medical staff to 10,000 by 2037.
Dr. Iain Kennedy, chairman of the British Medical Association Scotland, says there are “serious concerns” across the medical profession that Physician Associates are “cheaper options” and could be used to cover up gaps in staffing shortages
There have been concerns about the safety of the role since a woman’s death following a misdiagnosis.
Emily Chesterton, from Salford, Greater Manchester, died last year aged 30 after two appointments with a junior doctor who she believed was a GP. She was diagnosed with a sprain due to a blood clot.
Residents complete only two years of postgraduate training, usually after a degree in biological sciences, before they have direct contact with patients.
You work under the supervision of a doctor and may perform a variety of tasks, including diagnosing illnesses and analyzing test results.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Medical staff are an important part of the NHS Scotland workforce.”
“The Scottish Government will continue to consider how to best utilize these roles, with supervision from experienced healthcare professionals throughout their training and subsequent deployment.”