Statement in response to the British Medical Association’s threat of legal action

Statement in response to the announcement by the British Medical Association (BMA) that they are preparing to take legal action against the General Medical Council (GMC) over our use of the term ‘medical professionals’ and our intention to apply our core professional standards to doctors, physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs).

A GMC spokesperson said:

‘We have responded to the BMA today, strongly rejecting the basis on which they have threatened to bring legal proceedings. We believe the grounds for the threatened judicial review are not even arguable.’

‘We have extensively and formally consulted with the BMA over several years in relation to the core standards to be set for PAs and AAs, Good medical practice. From as early as 2021 we made the BMA and others aware of our intention to apply our core professional standards to doctors, PAs and AAs, and received no objections from them at all. Our approach, in publishing a single set of core standards, is consistent with that of other multiprofession healthcare regulators.’

‘The term ‘medical professionals’, which we have adopted to describe all the professional groups we will regulate, is not a protected title, and our use of it is both lawful and appropriate.’

‘We have made it very clear we will recognise and regulate doctors, PAs and AAs as three distinct professions. We have also been consistent in saying that, as their regulator, we will expect PAs and AAs to always work under some degree of supervision and to practise within their competence. They will have a responsibility to clearly communicate who they are, and their role in the team.’

‘To register with us, PAs and AAs will also need to show that they have the knowledge, skills, and experience to treat patients safely, and that there are no outstanding concerns about their fitness to practise. Bringing PAs and AAs into regulation will help to assure patients, colleagues and employers that they are safe to practise and can be held to account if serious concerns are raised.’

- Ends

Additional information:

• Our consultations with the BMA on Good medical practice 2024 included:

• A pre-consultation survey in 2021 which included a specific question on applying the core professional standards to doctors, PAs and AAs. No concerns were raised by the BMA in relation to this question.
• Our formal public consultation on Good medical practice in 2022 stated clearly that we intended to have one set of core professional guidance for all medical professionals registered with us. It also stated that we had adopted the term ‘medical professionals’ to describe all the professional groups we regulate. The BMA did not address either of these matters in its response to the consultation.
• In 2023 the GMC emailed an embargoed copy of Good medical practice 2024 to the BMA, in which it was confirmed the guidance would also apply to PAs and AAs when we became their regulator.
• We also presented at several BMA committee meetings and held informal meetings with BMA staff throughout the review at which the development of Good medical practice 2024, and the standards to be applied to doctors, PAs and AAs, were discussed.
• BMA members were part of an External Advisory Forum which was set up to act as a ‘critical friend and sounding board’ for key decisions and developments throughout the development of Good medical practice 2024.

• In 2019 the GMC was asked by the four UK governments to take on regulation of PAs and AAs. This work is funded by the DHSC.
• Earlier in 2024 legislation introducing the regulation of PAs and AAs was passed by the UK and Scottish Parliaments, which sets out a legal duty for us to regulate PAs and AAs from the end of this year.
• We have been consistently clear that PAs and AAs will have a responsibility to clearly communicate who they are, and their role in the team. Good medical practice, the professional standards that will apply to PAs and AAs once regulation starts, say: ‘you must always be honest about your experience, qualifications, and current role’.
• PAs and AAs don’t have the same knowledge, skills and expertise as doctors. They are not doctors, and they can’t replace them, and we have been consistently clear that any perception that there is a plan for the health services to ‘replace’ doctors with PAs or AAs must be tackled.
• We have consulted on the rules, standards and guidance needed to implement this legislation and we’re now considering the responses so that we can finalise our approach.