Partha Kar: Leng’s review of physician and anaesthesia associates is welcome—with guarded optimism

Abstract

Finally, we’re here. After months of heated debates, social media uproar, royal colleges in turmoil, and the reputation of many national organisations being questioned, the worm has turned. The health and social care secretary, Wes Streeting, has called for a review of how physician and anaesthesia associates are deployed in the NHS.1 The chair of the review, Gillian Leng, has a strong reputation and is well placed to conduct it. Since the stipulation is to look at data and views neutrally and to reach a decision about whether these roles are a cost effective use of taxpayers’ money, the former chief of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is as good as it gets. So, what next? One thing is to allow open communication from all parties and ensure that there’s a genuine desire to investigate this thoroughly. This issue won’t just go away. …