Unregulated doctors with just two years’ training are putting patient safety at risk by exploiting a “grey area” in NHS prescribing guidelines, doctors claim.
Physician Associates (PAs) assist doctors and nurses in their daily duties, but they are not meant to treat patients and it is illegal for them to write prescriptions. But according to Dr. Jatinder Hayre, nurses at the two major NHS hospitals where he previously worked, instructs junior doctors to do this on their behalf.
He also claims that there have been cases where they “changed a doctor’s prescription” after it was written, sometimes giving the patient “the wrong medication or dose.”
The news comes a week after The Mail on Sunday revealed that GP chiefs have appealed against PAs in the NHS following a series of devastating misdiagnosis.
This included the sad case of 79-year-old Norman Jopling, who suffered a severe brain haemorrhage after an assistant mistakenly told him that his painful headaches were nothing to worry about.
Devastating: Norman Jopling, who suffered a crippling brain haemorrhage after seeing a dismissive assistant, with his wife Maureen Paton Maguire
Physician assistants (PAs) help doctors and nurses with their daily tasks, but are not tasked with treating patients
In June, the government announced it would recruit 10,000 PAs over the next fifteen years to address the severe shortage of NHS staff. But doctors say this puts patients’ lives at risk, as they are already taking on tasks far beyond their qualifications.
“As a loophole to not having prescribing rights, I have seen PAs take advantage of newly qualified doctors – who have much more experience – by taking them on a ‘prescribing spree,'” says Dr. Hayre. “They instruct new doctors what to prescribe.”
“PAs appear to have an abundance of confidence but a relative lack of competence.”
READ MORE: GPS calls for strict action against medical staff after series of blunders
PAs can take medical histories, perform physical exams, and analyze test results under the supervision of a physician. They can also fill in forms and carry out basic examinations, which can add to the workload of GPs. Your education is typically completed after a bachelor’s degree in a health-related field such as psychology or exercise science.
There are currently around 2,500 PAs working in the NHS, but ministers’ plans to increase their numbers are controversial among many doctors amid fears they will replace highly qualified medics. Experts are particularly concerned that PAs are currently unregulated and therefore cannot be held accountable for their mistakes.
Last week the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) told this newspaper it was calling for rules to be introduced “as quickly as possible” to enable the NHS to remove PAs who were shown to have made avoidable mistakes. And on Tuesday, anesthetists voted overwhelmingly against expanding the use of PAs at a meeting of the Royal College of Anesthetists.
“Many are doing work in the field that doctors would normally do,” says Dr. Helen Salisbury, GP and medical education expert at Oxford University. “There is a gray area in the rules, which means that PAs can see a patient and then go to the doctor and suggest a prescription.”
“It is for the doctor to check whether the medication is suitable for the patient as the prescription is in his name.” But the truth is that many doctors do not have time for this, so the doctor often makes the decision himself. “
Experts also warn that they are directly involved in complicated hospital decisions despite not having the appropriate qualifications. “I’ve seen residents willing to send complicated, sick patients home just to have them fixed by a qualified doctor,” adds Dr. Hayre added. “These patients would inevitably have gotten sicker or worse if there hadn’t been a doctor who would have admitted them right away.”
“PAs are promoted to high positions after a two-year course and are fired. “It’s not certain.”
Our findings came as a shock to Maureen Paton Maguire, 71, wife of Norman Jopling – who was moved to a rehabilitation center last week to help him talk and walk again. “It’s good news that Norman is finally on the move, it feels like progress,” she says. “But he should never have been here. If he had been seen by a doctor and not an emergency doctor, it would most likely have been avoidable.”
An NHS spokesman said: “Prescriptions are only given by people who have the authority to do so. “Although doctors can do so on the advice of other professionals, they are responsible for ensuring that the medicine is suitable for the patient.”
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
