We are less than four months away from the final hearing in our fight against the GMC’s failure to set proper standards for Physician Associates (PAs) and Anaesthesia Associates (AAs) to treat patients safely.
Emily Chesterton’s parents, grieving the loss of their daughter after a PA’s misdiagnosis, have joined us in this fight. Their involvement is a stark reminder of how high the stakes are.
But we are dangerously short of funds.
What is the legal case about?
PAs and AAs are not doctors. They are taking over roles and responsibilities that have traditionally been undertaken by doctors, even though they have had less training.
The government has presented them as delivering “vital specific aspects of patient care” but nobody knows what those aspects are. In fact, many PAs are working by themselves, with little or no oversight, without patients even realising that they aren’t seeing a doctor. “Supervision” often amounts to nothing more than a doctor being reachable by phone, if the PA chooses to contact them.
The General Medical Council (GMC), who is now the regulator, has refused to establish national standards for supervision of PAs, their scope of practice, or processes for gaining patient consent. This has created a ticking time bomb in patient safety; and as the number of PAs grows then so too does the size of the problem.
Our legal case rests on three grounds:
- Abdication of responsibilities: The GMC’s refusal to implement safe and lawful practice measures is irrational and flies in the face of the regulatory framework outlined in the 2024 Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates Order. Their inaction is indefensible and endangers patients.
- Failure to Investigate: The GMC has made no effort to examine the real-world risks posed by current practices in NHS Trusts. Our Freedom of Information requests have uncovered chilling policies, where Associates are given dangerously inappropriate responsibilities. This is happening already and is likely to get worse if it remains unchecked.
- Encouraging Unlawful Practices: The GMC’s vague and misleading policies on supervision, delegation, and informed consent put clinicians and associates at risk of breaking the law. Patients have a legal right to know who is treating them, yet the GMC’s failures are paving the way for gross violations of consent.
The GMC have claimed that they themselves don’t have the expertise to say what Associates can and cannot do. So how can they, and their patients, be certain? This lack of expertise didn’t prevent them, though, from writing to the experts at the Royal College and telling them they’d done it wrong.
You can read our full legal case here.
What are we fighting for?
We are calling for “safe and lawful practice” measures that will :
- Set specific and safe limits on the tasks that PAs and AAs may undertake after qualification
- Ensure proper levels of supervision
- Ensure that informed patient consent is obtained.
How far has the legal case progressed?
Mr Justice Chamberlain, the Lead High Court Judge dealing with judicial review cases, has passed judgement. He has bypassed the first (permission) stage for us and has expedited the hearing. In doing so, he has commented that the grounds of the case are reasonably arguable and added that the claim raises serious issues of importance to the relevant professions and to patients.
We see that as being hugely supportive, especially since the GMC had dismissed our case as being hopeless.
The case is due to be heard in Court before the end of the Easter term. We will inform you of the date as soon as we have it.
Urgent Appeal for Donations
We must raise another £150,000 now to present our case to the Court in April. If we cannot raise the money we will be forced to abandon the case – leaving this broken system unchanged.
We have already raised over £150,000 but that has been spent on legal fees. We have some of the best solicitors and barristers in the country working on this.
If you care about patient safety, if you believe in justice for Emily Chesterton and others like her, we need your help. Donate now. Every pound counts. Without your support, the GMC will go unchallenged, and more lives will be lost.
We are running out of time. Act now.