Since the Society of Radiographers (SoR) and Royal College of Radiologists' (RCR) statement in February 2024, the General Medical Council has become established as the regulator for Physician Associates (PAs) and Anaesthesia Associates (AAs).
PAs and AAs are now able to apply for registration under this regulator.
Under the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations IR(ME)R, non-medical professionals working within a clearly defined scope of practice may be granted an entitlement to refer patients for imaging investigations requiring ionising radiation by their employer. Recent guidance for non-medical referrers indicates that additional training is required.
With the Leng review currently determining the contribution of PAs and AAs to multidisciplinary healthcare teams, it remains unclear whether this group of professionals will be supported to act as referrers within the NHS. We note the RCN has stated nursing associates should not be entitled to refer. In our view, it would be premature for PAs and AAs to undertake this training, and so they should not request imaging examinations for patients, until such time as the review is completed and their scope of practice is agreed.
Given the considerable upset that has been caused by the lack of clarity of the roles of PAs and AAs so far, we hope this will ensure consistency, avoid unnecessary disruption to services and mean that training can be appropriately targeted.
(Image: X-ray machine, by Tom Werner via Getty Images)