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 endorse our legal case? 

A medically-trained Coroner is expressing concern even after regulation has started. 

• The public don’t understand what PAs are.
• There is a lack of regulation of the scope of practice for a PA.
• Action should be taken to prevent future deaths.
  

There can be no doubt of the urgent and pressing need for a defined Scope of Practice for both PAs and AAs.

• The scientific evidence supports it. 
• The entire medical profession knows it. 
• The public rightly expects it. 

And yet the guardians of standards sit silent over our judicial review. The Royal Colleges want to see a national scope, as do we, and some of them have even written documents. But these need proper enforcement.

Without an enforced national scope for PAs we risk

• Cash-strapped-employers pushing PAs beyond their capabilities
• The risk of more deaths
• A loss of confidence in the NHS

The Colleges and Societies both share our concerns about PA regulation, but although they have the same overall goal they have stopped short of backing our legal action. We recognise they may prefer a softer approach, but believe holding the GMC to account in Court is the only way to bring real change quickly. We urge them to reconsider.

You can read below our most recent letter to the Royal Colleges or download it. Our letter sent last year is here.

We are having to crowdfund what is arguably the defining legal case of the century. We are immensely grateful to the individuals who have helped fund this fight. Their generosity and commitment to patient safety has put the Colleges and Societies to shame. 

These are established charitable institutions. Their silence is not helpful.  Without a clear, defined and enforced  scope of practice, patients will continue to be misled and put at risk. So we ask them openly – please step up, speak out and do what is right for UK healthcare – openly support and endorse our legal case. If you won’t defend patient safety now – financially and publicly – then what exactly is your role?