Our legal team have applied to the judge for permission to appeal against the decision she made in our judicial review of the GMC over their failure to define a scope of practice for Physician … Read more

We are hugely disappointed that Mrs Justice Lambert has dismissed our judicial review on all grounds. She has accepted everything that Professor Melville and the GMC have said, despite the flaws in their argument. Her … Read more

Following the publication of the Leng review, there may be further delays in getting our verdict as the GMC has asked the court to look at how this review affects our claim. The GMC, BMA … Read more

In her long-awaited report on Associates, Professor Leng has set out 18 recommendations. The most significant of these is that the title of “physician associate” and “anaesthesia associate” should now be downgraded to physician assistant … Read more

Our judicial review of the GMC has finished and we are anxiously waiting for Mrs Justice Lambert to issue her verdict. And whatever the outcome we succeeded in shining a spotlight on decisions made behind … Read more

When Charlie Massey was appointed as CEO of the GMC in 2016, straight from his position at the Department of Health, 1,300 doctors signed a letter of no confidence, saying ‘His position as the Director … Read more

In the third and final day in court, Rory Dunlop KC and Peter Mant KC, on behalf of the GMC, defended their position to Mrs Justice Lambert, and our own barrister Tom de la Mare … Read more

We are looking forward to the third day in court on Monday June 9th. Please note that the arrangements for listening by Cloud Video Platform have changed since last time, so read the details below … Read more

Today’s Guardian reports that Professor Leng’s review of Physician Associates (PAs) will recommend that they are renamed to something less confusing for patients. And they will also be required to tell patients, explicitly, that they … Read more

Despite our earlier attempts at getting full disclosure from the GMC we remain frustrated that some key information on decision-making has not been presented to the court.  Our lawyers have written to the GMC asking … Read more

Our second day in court went well, with both our barristers and the BMA’s  hitting the message home. And the GMC started their defence with an emphasis on dry details of law.  But the case … Read more

The skeleton arguments presented by our legal team are posted here. We have also uploaded the first and second witness statements of Professor Melville which were referred to today. This morning in court Tom de … Read more

Our barristers are presenting their arguments to the court this morning. Below are the full skeleton arguments and annexes that they will be presenting. The 4 annexes refer to:- Please remember that we are short … Read more

The court has delayed the start of our case by 24 hours. The case is now booked for the 14th May at the High Court of Justice in the Strand, and will run over two … Read more

On May 13th our judicial review of the GMC, the way they have regulated associates, will be heard in the High Court. This case has been made possible thanks to over £200,000 in public donations; … Read more

Everyone was surprised at a Council meeting of the Royal College of Physicians Council meeting on 19th November, when Mr Massey of the GMC gave the impression that the GMC would accept College guidance on … Read more

To lose a child is so very painful. It is not the right order of this world. However, to lose a child and then discover it was avoidable is the worst pain ever. Emily was … Read more

We are disappointed to hear the judge ruled against the BMA in their judicial review of the GMC, over the use of the term ‘medical professionals’ and applying “Good Medical Practice” to AAs and PAs. … Read more

In a judicial review case like ours, both sides are under an important legal obligation to be open with the Court and each other. This is called the duty of candour and is explained in … Read more

The GMC has attempted to blindfold the court to important new evidence, and prevent us from responding to its lead witness. And it has failed. The GMC attempted to prevent us, and the Chesterton family, … Read more

Your FAQs on our upcoming court case against the GMC answered! The issue of doctor replacement by PAs in primary care is explained – and how our case will stop it.

There are still many doctors that are unaware of our legal case. We are keen to spread awareness and get more support (and more donations to our legal fund). Our posters We’ve designed a series … Read more

With only 9 weeks to go, is it time for the Medical Royal Colleges and Specialist Societies to get off the fence? Now that we have seen the Oxford report,  can they openly support and … Read more

The University of Oxford study published in the BMJ  demonstrated the lack of evidence that Physician Associates (PAs) were safe, and found no data that showed deploying PAs or AAs even saves money. Now the Royal … Read more

Strict new rules on supervision of Physician Associates (PAs) in A&E  have been issued by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM). The requirements are now for ‘direct supervision by a senior clinician’ and for … Read more

Another coroner has demanded action, after the death of an elderly lady seen by an unsupervised Physician Associate in A&E was sent home without a medical review. The PA had made a diagnosis of epistaxis … Read more

The case has now passed its first legal hurdle and been granted permission to proceed to a full High Court hearing. The GMC will be held to account, publicly, for the unsafe and pitifully light-touch … Read more

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) have drawn a hard line. There is no role, they say, for Physician Associates (PAs) in General Practice.  If that is the case then we should urgently pause … Read more

The GMC has opened the doors to Physician Associates (PAs) and Anaesthesia Associates (AAs) from several other countries to come to the UK. The list of 15 countries includes Bangladesh, Ghana, Switzerland and the USA. … Read more

Anaesthesia Associates (AAs) are not legally allowed to prescribe drugs. They are not doctors. However various loopholes are being used to avoid this law because injecting drugs is obviously at the centre of anaesthetics. The … Read more