Medical associates increase doctors' workload, survey finds

Posed by models. Credit: Getty/sturti

By Sarah Lowden

More than half of doctors find working with physician associates or anaesthesia associates is making their work harder not easier, according to a survey.

More than 13,000 doctors answered a survey by the British Medical Association and more than half (55%) reported that their workload had increased as a result of working with a PA or AA.

However, around a fifth (21%) did find associates had a positive impact as they found their workload had decreased.

The survey also found 8 in 10 respondents were "occasionally or frequently concerned" that a PA or AA they worked alongside was working beyond their competence, and that was "always or sometimes a risk to patient safety".

Professor Phil Banfield, BMA chair of council, said: “NHS England tells us that ‘Physician Associates support doctors in the diagnosis and management of patients,’ supposedly giving doctors more time to deliver the high-quality care only they can give.