The GP, the PA, their patient and her tragic death (7 August 2023)

Summary

In this blog, Dr Nadeem Moghal looks at the recent case of a 30 year-old patient who died after a physician associate (PA) at her GP surgery failed to diagnose her with a pulmonary embolism. He outlines a recent debate about the role of PAs in general practice and why employing them has become an attractive option for GP partnerships, which run as businesses. He highlights the need for PAs to be adequately trained and supervised to ensure patient safety and argues that the role is here to stay as PAs play an important role in tackling gaps in the NHS workforce.