AMERICAN ER-style assistants working in the NHS will help cut waiting times for patients, the government said today.
Plans for so-called Medical Care Practitioners (MCPs) were outlined by the Department of Health in a bid to increase capacity in hospitals and primary care.
The MCPs will help doctors and nurses to treat patients in a similar role to physician assistants in the US.
The DoH said they would be a new breed of health professional, performing similar duties to junior doctors under the supervision of consultants.
Physician assistants from the US have been working in Britain as part of pilot schemes, which have been hailed a success. Now the government has published a curriculum framework for MCPs, outlining the standards they will have to meet before they can treat patients.
Training
It is expected that science graduates, nurses or physiotherapists could be among those who could take the additional MCP training.
The DoH said that MCPs would only be allowed to treat patients after "rigorous additional training" and under the continuous supervision of physicians.
Tasks they could perform include:
Obtaining full medical histories and performing examinations such as breast checks;
Diagnosing, managing and treating illnesses within their competence such as depression, gout and eczema;
Requesting diagnostic tests such as heart monitoring and interpreting the results; and
Providing patient education and preventative healthcare advice regarding medication, common problems and disease management such as diabetes care, chronic respiratory conditions and angina.
The DoH said the MCPs would add capacity to medical teams and help lead to shorter waiting times for patients.
Earlier this year, doctors voiced concerns that patients were being misled and put at risk by a growing number of non-medically qualified staff working in the NHS.
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I would need a lot of convincing that Medical Care Practitioners (MCPs) would be of added benefit and would not confuse patients as to who exactly was treating them. GPs would want to be assured that the introduction of MCPs into primary care would improve both the quantity and quality of care available to patients.Why did they not call them Physicians Assistants? Because they want to pretend they are providing doctors when they aren't. It's a sickening misrepresentation .I am a supporter and advocate of the concept of Physician Assistants since I saw them working in the US. But why can't we in the UK not come clean and say what we are doing instead of this shameful and continuous lying about what goes on in the NHS?
why would very highly skillfull profesionals like physiotherapist and registered nurses want to be called assistants. The physiotherapist is a proffesional in their own right. There are some who have gone one step further and become Extended Scope Practisioners. they already diagnose and interpret results. The government should be asking these people if they should be Drs asssistants this job is already being done at North Manchester by NVQ 3 leads who have worked in the NHS for a long time. It is known that Nurses will not want to be called Drs assistants. perish the thought
does the government not realise the implications of this role the junior doctors will always be junior they will gain no experience in dealing with patients this is already dwindling as nurses are already taking on these roles and not getting the professional status or the financial reward ,nurses are once again being abused for the vocational carreer they have undertaken!!!!!!!