UK: recommendations for clarity of PA and AA roles accepted
A government-commissioned review into Physician Associates (PAs) and Anaesthesia Associates (AAs), led by Professor Gillian Leng, has been fully accepted by the Department of Health and Social Care. Its recommendations aim to improve patient safety by clarifying roles, strengthening supervision, standardizing training, and ensuring transparency with patients. Crucially, the review proposes renaming PAs as “Physician Assistants” and AAs as “Physician Assistants in Anaesthesia” to better reflect their supportive nature and reduce confusion with doctors. It also restricts these roles from treating undiagnosed patients except in narrowly defined protocols. The government plans to establish permanent professional bodies, enforce clear team structures and identifiers (like uniforms and badges), require two years of hospital experience for new assistants before moving into community settings, and train supervising doctors in leadership. The reforms are intended as part of a broader “reset” to strengthen public trust and integrate these roles safely into NHS teams.