Who is a qualified physician? Nearly one in four Britons do not know the difference between a physician associate and a doctor, a poll has found

A survey shows that almost one in four people do not know the difference between a physician assistant and a doctor.

While 52 percent of Britons can tell the difference between the two roles, 23 percent say they don’t know the difference.

Healthwatch England, the organisation that conducted the poll, has called for greater clarity about the role of junior doctors.

The NHS long-term employment plan includes an ambition to have a workforce of 10,000 physician associates by 2036/37.

PA is a relatively new profession that has been used in healthcare since 2003.

Nearly one in four people do not know the difference between a physician associate and a doctor, according to a survey

Three in five adults said the person providing their care at their last NHS appointment clearly explained their role, according to a survey of 1,677 people across England conducted by Savanta (archive picture)

There are approximately 4,000 physician associates working in the NHS in England.

They are medically trained and work alongside doctors and nurses. They perform similar tasks as doctors, but they do not have the same medical training as doctors.

Medical professions, also known as MAPs, are under increased scrutiny following the death of Emily Chesterton, 30, in November 2022.

She thought she was going to the GP, but in reality she was seen twice by a junior doctor, who failed to recognise that the pain in her leg and shortness of breath were caused by a blood clot that had eventually travelled to her lungs.

Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, wrote in Pulse magazine: ‘The need for clarity about the role of PAs was highlighted in local Healthwatch reports.

‘Some local Healthwatch organisations explained that patients may have heard of PAs and understand that they are not doctors, but people are less likely to understand what they can and cannot do.

‘In many cases, patients had to be made aware of the local presence of PAs, and often only found out what their role was when they were given an appointment with a PA.

‘In some cases, patients had specifically requested a doctor but were assigned an assistant instead.

‘Where people knew they had received care from a PA, their experiences were generally positive. People particularly appreciated that a PA could help them when they needed it.’

Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, wrote in Pulse magazine that it is important that patients know who is treating them

Three in five adults said the person caring for them at their last NHS appointment had clearly explained their role, according to a survey of 1,677 people across England by Savanta.

Ms Ansari added: ‘People care about knowing who is treating them, and NHS staff need to identify themselves.’

An NHS England spokesperson said: ‘We have recently published summary guidance for hospitals setting out expectations for the use of specialist clinicians, to ensure clarity around responsibilities and expectations for safety, accountability and transparency.

‘We are working with Healthwatch and the Patients Association to produce material for patients and the public to explain the roles of healthcare professionals and we will continue to work with organisations ahead of the GMC regulations coming into force at the end of this year.’

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘Junior doctors have played an important role in the NHS for over 20 years, but we are clear that they should support doctors, not replace them. They should also receive the right level of oversight from healthcare organisations.’