AN Ulster University graduate unable to get work in the health service has said he’s hopeful a government review will clear up the “toxic debate” around Physicians Associates (PAs).
The Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced the review into the role of PAs will report next Spring, following concerns from a health union over patient safety.
PAs are graduates with two years of postgraduate training, but do not have a medical degree.
They assist doctors in primary and secondary care, with duties including taking medical histories, carrying out physical examinations and developing management plans.
In recent years, there have been negative headlines about the deaths of people who were treated by PAs but did not know it, and where mistakes were made.
This includes Emily Chesterton (30), who died in 2022 from a pulmonary embolism after being misdiagnosed by a PA on two occasions when she visited her GP practice in north London.
The British Medical Association had claimed over the summer that the growing use of PAs was an attempt at “eroding the medical profession” while the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges also wrote to Mr Streeting over “mounting concern” from doctors.
In Northern Ireland, Ulster University currently runs a two-year Masters course for PAs with 20 places.
This is subsidised at a cost of £787,000 from the Department of Health, but many graduates have said it has been difficult to secure a job.
This includes Conor Finnerty (25) from Newry and his partner Martina.
“Obviously it is disappointing, but it could be worse and there is hope,” he told the Irish News.
“I think the review is a good thing, even just to outline the correct scope of PAs. They’re doing God’s work but they’re receiving a lot of abuse for it.
“Most of my class haven’t been able to get work as PAs either. We may have found meaningful employment elsewhere, but it’s not what we had set out to do.
“Now you have another two years’ worth of graduates coming through Ulster University.”
Asked if he had been given the impression that jobs were waiting, he said: “100%, it was sold to us as almost a guarantee.
“But right at the end the rug was pulled out from under us.
“I didn’t train for this role to negatively impact doctors, but there seems to be this idea of a secret plot to make them null and void,” he said.
“That’s obviously not the case. PAs should make it blatantly obvious that we’re not doctors.
“There are several examples of patients who suffered after being treated by PAs, however that can be the case in any profession and I think PAs were unjustly scrutinised in that regard.”
Commenting on the review, Mr Streeting said many PAs provided great care and took pressure off doctors, but agreed there were legitimate concerns of transparency for patients.
“These concerns have been ignored for too long, leading to a toxic debate where physicians feel ignored and PAs feel demoralised,” he said.
In a written question to the Stormont health minister Mike Nesbitt, Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw asked how PAs fit into the workforce planning policy “with a significant number of those qualified unable to find work in the health service.”
Mr Nesbitt said: “As qualified healthcare professionals, Physician Associates can make an important contribution within that workforce.”
He added that his department was continuing to encourage health service employers to secure posts for the Ulster University graduates despite “a very challenging financial situation.”
