New accreditation for PAs and anaesthesia associates is ‘important milestone’ for patient assurance, regulator saysMore than 1,000 physician associates (PAs) could begin their careers in the NHS every year after regulators approved dozens of courses to teach them. The General Medical Council (GMC) said it had given 36 courses formal approval to teach PAs and anaesthesia associates (AAs). Overall, these courses had capacity for up to 1,059 PAs and 42 AAs to qualify each year. The GMC said approving training courses would mean that “patients, employers and colleagues can be assured that PAs and AAs have the required knowledge and skills to practise safely once they qualify”. PAs are graduates – usually with a health or life sciences degree – who have undertaken two years of postgraduate training. According to the NHS, PAs work under the supervision of a doctor and can diagnose people, take medical histories, perform physical examinations, see patients with long-term conditions, analyse test results and develop management plans. There were calls for more clarity in the PA role and better patient protection after the death of Emily Chesterton, 30, in November 2022 from a pulmonary embolism. Chesterton was misdiagnosed by a PA in London on two occasions who said her calf pain was a sprain, when she actually had a blood clot. Most associates work in GP surgeries, acute medicine and emergency medicine while AAs work as part of the anaesthesia and wider surgical team. The GMC, which took over the regulation of PAs and AAs in December, said it had approved 33 PA courses. Four of these – at Bradfo