Why is the BMA (British Medical Association) suing the GMC (General Medical Council)?

What are the BMA and GMC?

The BMA is a registered trade union for doctors in the UK, and the GMC is the independent regulator of doctors in the UK. The GMC maintains the official register of medical practitioners to ensure that patients are kept safe and have good quality of care. 

Why is the GMC being sued?

The GMC is being sued for the future plans it has to regulate physician and anaesthesia associates, with the BMA stating that there is blurring of lines between the roles of experienced doctors and assistant roles. 

According to the NHS website, the role of a physician associate is to support doctors in the diagnosis and management of patients as part of the multidisciplinary team. This may be through taking medical histories from patients, diagnosing illnesses as well as a variety of other tasks. However, doctors have raised concerns about their length of training and how their training will intrude on that of the junior doctors. 

The BMA believes that the GMC is not the right organisation to regulate the differences between doctors and physician associates, as the government is undermining and devaluing the medical profession. Additionally, it can be confusing for patients by not making these distinct differences clear. 

Misconceptions about physician associates

Whilst the actual physician associate degree is 2 years, it is completed as a postgraduate course, so they must have studied a previous degree within the scope of healthcare science or biomedical science. This means they have at least 5 years of university education. They also offer more continuity than junior doctors, who have to move often during their training, whilst physician associates can stay for years. 

Physician associates were initially intended to assist doctors to relieve them of some tasks. However, currently, they are seen to take on roles beyond what their actual job states. Some may take on complex roles like managing patients with undiagnosed problems. This is extremely dangerous as their training programme may not cover these complex cases, leading to unqualified professionals treating patients.

An example is Emily Chersterton who unfortunately died from a blood clot after being misdiagnosed by a PA. She was instead told that her calf pain was a sprain by who she believed was a GP. As a result, her mother, Marion, calls for more regulation around physician associates as the role has added confusion. 

Conclusion

The BMA council chair (Phillip Banfield) stated: ‘Everyone has the right to know who the healthcare professional they are seeing is and what they are qualified to do- and crucially, not to do’. It is important that physician associates are not vilified as they are ultimately part of the wide multidisciplinary team seen in healthcare. However, their roles must be regulated and made clear to patients to ensure that trust in the healthcare system does not decrease. Patients have the right to be completely aware of the qualifications of who is treating them and unblurring the lines between a doctor and physician associate will help to ensure that there is no more unintended patient harm.

Written by Aaliyah B

Moderated by Adelene G

References

McKee, M. and Brayne, C. (2024). Physician associates in the UK: some fundamental questions that need answers now. BMJ, [online] 384, p.q699. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q699.

Misdiagnosis: Bereaved mum calls for physician associate role clarity. (2023). BBC News. [online] 12 Jul. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-66168798.

NHS (2015). Physician associate. [online] Health Careers. Available at: https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/medical-associate-professions/roles-medical-associate-professions/physician-associate.

Rimmer, A. (2016). Physician associates—what do they do? BMJ, p.i4303. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i4303.

The British Medical Association is the trade union and professional body for doctors in the UK. (n.d.). BMA launches legal action against GMC over dangerous blurring of lines between doctors and physician associates - BMA media centre - BMA. [online] Available at: https://www.bma.org.uk/bma-media-centre/bma-launches-legal-action-against-gmc-over-dangerous-blurring-of-lines-between-doctors-and-physician-associates [Accessed 17 Jul. 2024].

‌Wikipedia Contributors (2019). British Medical Association. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Medical_Association.

Wikipedia Contributors (2019). General Medical Council. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Medical_Council.

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