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 regulatory regime for Physician Associates (PAs) and Anaesthesia Associates (AAs).

Recognising the gravity of the issues at stake, the judge has ordered expedition and the hearing will be on May 13th for 1.5 days.

Anaesthetists United, together with the parents of Emily Chesterton, are taking action against the General Medical Council (GMC) over their failure to regulate both forms of Associate properly.

We need more money

Legal accountability is not free – unless you are the GMC and the taxpayer is ultimately meeting your legal bills. We are aiming to raise another £150,000 to cover our costs in the next stage of the case.

We offered mediation to the GMC as a way of keeping costs down, but they repeatedly refused.

What we are calling for is both proportional and reasonable – in fact it’s hard to find a major body that disagrees with us (other than the GMC itself). A clearly defined scope of practice for PAs, and close supervision to ensure this is followed, is critical for patient safety, according to NHSEmployers, who echo our thoughts.

And in a letter to a constituent, Lib Dem MP Will Forster put it bluntly that proper regulation is needed to ensure that patient safety is not put at risk.

A rapid systematic review of published research in the UK by Greenhalgh concluded summarised that it is necessary for there to be a national scope of practice, with flexibility within that scope.

We’ve asked the Royal Medical Colleges and other learned institutions to support us publicly. After all, they are asking for the same as we are. But many of them are simply too worried about their reputational risks to endorse us publicly.

Can you encourage them?