How will the Leng review change the work of PAs?

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By Daniel Pye

The Leng review into the safety and effectiveness of physician and anaesthesia associates (PAs and AAs) has finally been published. Doctors.net.uk takes an in-depth look at the report and recommendations to see how the roles may change and what impact this could have on doctors.

Why was the review commissioned?

Last autumn, health secretary Wes Streeting appointed Professor Gillian Leng to produce an independent review due “an increasingly intense debate” on PAs and AAs.

This would look at the safety, scope and how the controversial roles are deployed across the NHS.

Streeting said there had been “legitimate concerns over transparency for patients, scope of practice, and the substituting of doctors”.

Medical organisations welcomed the news, saying they hoped it would bring clarity and address concerns raised by doctors.

Streeting says the review [pdf] will shape his refreshed workforce plan, due this summer.

Where are PAs working now?

PAs in primary care work at 577 practices and tend to be employed in “hard-to-recruit areas”, particularly in London, Professor Leng says.