Physician Associates
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many physician associates were employed by the NHS in England in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the number of physician associates employed by the NHS in England in the last 10 years.
Answered by Karin Smyth
We do not hold data on physician associate (PA) numbers for each of the last ten years, but the table below provides figures for the number of full time equivalent (FTE) PAs employed in both National Health Service trusts and primary care from 2017 to 2024.
| Physician Associates in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England - FTE | Physician Associates in Primary Care in England - FTE | Of which, Physician Associates employed by General Practices in England - FTE |
December 2017 | Not Available | Not Available | 55 |
December 2018 | Not Available | Not Available | 116 |
December 2019 | Not Available | Not Available | 268 |
December 2020 | 973 | Not Available | 378 |
December 2021 | 1,136 | 1,041 | 477 |
December 2022 | 1,384 | 1,541 | 628 |
December 2023 | 1,624 | 2,009 | 763 |
December 2024 | 1,616 | 2,068 | 830 |
Sources: NHS Workforce Statistics, NHS England; General Practice Workforce Statistics, NHS England; Primary Care Quarterly Workforce Update, NHS England
Notes:
- Data is only published for PAs employed in hospital and other core organisation (commissioning bodies) settings from 2020 onwards.
- PAs in primary care settings may be employed directly by general practices (GPs) or may be employed through other routes such as by primary care networks. Data is only available for PAs employed directly by GPs prior to 2021 and as such will be an undercount of the total across primary care.
The Government has commissioned Professor Gillian Leng CBE to lead an independent review of physician and anaesthesia associate professions. It will consider the safety of the roles and their contribution to multidisciplinary healthcare teams. The conclusions of the review will inform the workforce plan to deliver the 10-Year Health Plan.
The review will consider the approach that was adopted in England to support the safe introduction, employment and deployment of these new roles.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →