Responding to the publication of the Leng Review into the safety and effectiveness of Physician Associates (PAs) and Anaesthesia Associates (AAs), UMAPs Trade Union General Secretary Stephen Nash said:
“United Medical Associate Professionals (UMAPs) broadly welcomes the findings of the Leng Review into the safety and effectiveness of physician associates and anaesthesia associates, particularly the conclusion that PAs play a crucial role in improving access to healthcare and freeing up capacity in the NHS.
As Medical Associate Professionals (MAPs), our work is absolutely crucial to meeting NHS delivery targets, including reducing waiting times, and we wholeheartedly endorse Professor Leng’s view that PAs and AAs are “part of the solution” to staff shortages in the health service.
Far from being unsafe, Professor Leng’s review shows that PAs and AAs help to uphold the high standards of the NHS by ensuring similar outcomes in patient care to other medical professionals.
However, we do have concerns about some of the recommendations included in Professor Leng’s review, which we believe could in fact limit rather than increase patients’ access to care if they are adopted without proper consultation. In particular, we object to the recommendation that PAs only treat ‘differentiated patients’ i.e. those who have already received a diagnosis. We believe this will only compound the backlog for appointments with GPs and consultants and entirely negates the benefit of having such highly trained medical professionals available on wards and in local surgeries.
At the same time, we support Professor Leng’s assessment that the debate around MAPs has become “toxic”. One of the driving forces behind this review being carried out was a coordinated, vindictive, and highly political campaign against MAPs by radical factions within the BMA and other professional bodies.
While these factions claim to be protecting patient safety, in fact they are primarily concerned with promoting a radical agenda that supports unsustainable pay demands and unfettered strike action by the BMA. Because MAPs are not part of the BMA, we do not strike with doctors and our pay negotiations are separate. Forces within the BMA therefore see MAPs as an ‘enemy within’ that must be eliminated.
We hope that Professor Leng’s conclusion that there is no good case for abolishing PA and AA roles will draw a line under attempts by these factions to have MAPs removed from the health service. However, we do not see this as likely. Just as they continue to ignore the majority of the country who do not support further strike action, individuals within the BMA will strive to campaign against MAPs at the expense of improving access to medical care. At present, we believe the BMA is the biggest risk to patient safety in Britain.
That is why UMAPS will continue to stand up for PAs and AAs across the country, ensuring legal support against unfair dismissal, unnecessary reduction in scope, and workplace bullying that many MAPs continue to face.”
Notes to editors
United Medical Associate Professionals Trade Union (UMAPs TU) was founded in December 2024 to represent medical associate professionals and students, providing advocacy, legal support, and professional development advice to MAPs at every stage in their careers.
