Anaesthetist backlash over associate expansion

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A medical royal college is facing growing pressure to change its stance on associate clinicians amid concern that they may become confused with doctors.

A campaign has been launched to secure an extraordinary general meeting of the Royal College of Anaesthetists to oppose expansion of the anaesthesia associate workforce.

The college, meanwhile, has launched its own survey of anaesthetists, asking their views on the expansion of the associate workforce.

Inviting members of the college to participate, college president Dr Fiona Donald writes: “While AAs have been working in the UK for over 20 years, there is relatively limited published evidence in relation to the role. The aim of this survey is to help strengthen the evidence base by obtaining a large and representative sample of our members’ views and experiences.

“We want to ensure that our approach is informed by evidence, particularly the views of our members.”

She adds: “The survey covers areas that members have raised as important, including the relationship between the role of anaesthesia associates and factors such as postgraduate anaesthetic training, patient safety, working hours, job satisfaction and perceived value for money. It also asks for your views about proposals in NHS England’s Long Term Workforce Plan to increase the number of anaesthesia associates over the next 15 years.”