The Fire Brigades Union in Liverpool(FBU) has come out against the use of physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs) in the National Health Service (NHS), according to PULSE (a primary care focused news website).
PULSE report that a motion passed at the fire brigade union’s national conference last week expressed concern about PAs and AAs.
The FBU’s motion says that PAs are “not always qualified doctors or anaesthetists”
This is correct – physician associates are not doctors. The FBU are concerned that PAs ‘could be making decisions that impact patient health’. The FBU is calling on its members to lobby against the use of PAs and AAs through various means, including petitions and contacting MPs.
Lee Hunter, chair of the FBU’s Merseyside branch, which supported the motion, linked the use of PAs and AAs to broader concerns about deregulation and a “race to the bottom” in the public sector. He argued that this approach prioritizes privatization over patient safety and the well-being of healthcare workers.
The Merseyside FBU’s opposition to PAs comes amid a crisis for physician associates