Physician Assistants: Redundancy
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to provide financial compensation to physician associates made redundant as a result of changes to clinical guidance.
Answered by Karin Smyth
The principle question of the Leng Review was to assess whether the roles of physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia, still legally known as anaesthesia associates and physician associates, are safe and effective. The review’s findings were clear that, with changes in line with its recommendations, there remains a place for these roles to continue as supportive, complementary members of medical teams.
Whilst decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers at a local level, physician assistants, and physician assistants in anaesthesia, will continue to play an important role in the NHS.
Our forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will look at how to get the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care, and we will consider the findings of the Leng Review when developing the plan.
There are no plans to reimburse training costs or provide financial compensation to physician assistants.
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