The United Medical Associate Professionals Trade Union welcomes the High Court’s ruling in the case brought by the British Medical Association (BMA) against the General Medical Council (GMC).
The High Court judgement upholds that the GMC acted lawfully in referring to Physician Associates (PAs) and Anaesthesia Associates (AAs) as ‘Medical Professionals’, and in applying universal professional standards across all medical professions registered with the GMC.
In her ruling, Justice Lambert defined Medical Associates as, ‘Members of a profession, trained to the medical model, undertaking work which might otherwise be performed by doctors and working as members of the multi-disciplinary team in a healthcare context.’ Justice Lambert ruled that viewed in this way, it was apt for the GMC to refer to MAPs as ‘Medical Professionals’.
We welcome the clarity that this brings in how we define the roles of Medical Associates, and how we manage the expectations of patients and colleagues surrounding the professions.
PA Stephen Nash, General Secretary of UMAPs said, “The definition laid out in the Court’s findings as to what a Medical Associate is and our description as medical professionals, brings about the beginning of the end to the consistent campaign of disinformation regarding the role of Medical Associates and their work within the medical and wider NHS workforce.”
He continued, “We would now recommend organisations cease making statements that are disparaging and undermining of their Medical Associate colleagues, and that they seriously consider remediating the damages that have been wrought over our professions by a body and group whose position has now been deemed fundamentally wrong.”
Professional regulation was always the long-term goal for MAPs, and we are delighted that PAs and AAs continue to be added to the GMC register at a steady pace. GMC registration ensures safety and transparency for patients and finally brings legitimacy to the role of MAPs as practicing, regulated medical professionals. We view the High Court’s judgement as another positive affirmation that PAs and AAs are educated and valued medical professionals, and this ruling should effectively silence any claims to the contrary.
To read the Court’s judgement in full, please visit: The British Medical Association, R (on the application of) v General Medical Council – Find Case Law – The National Archives
