Physician associates will be renamed to stop patients mistaking them for doctors

Physician associates in the NHS will be renamed to stop patients mistaking them for doctors after a review found that their title causes widespread confusion.

- Denis Campbell

Thousands of physician associates (PAs) who work in hospitals and GP surgeries across the UK take medical histories, examine patients and diagnose illnesses but are not doctors.

However, Prof Gillian Leng, whose government-ordered review is looking into whether they pose a risk to patients' safety, has concluded that they must be given a new name, so patients they treat are not misled into thinking they have seen a doctor, according to sources with knowledge of her thinking.

Doctors who fear that the term "physician associates" has created widespread confusion among the public and risks undermining trust in the medical profession will regard ditching it as a major victory.

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, is expected to accept Leng's recommendation and instigate the change, which could result in physician associates being renamed physician assistants or doctors' assistants.