AAGBI POSITION Statement

28 January 2008

Physicians’ Assistants (Anaesthesia) is the new title for Anaesthesia Practitioners

APs now become PA(A)s

The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain & Ireland (AAGBI) and the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA), with the full support of the Patient Liaison Group, have decided that the title Anaesthesia Practitioner will no longer be used and that the title Physicians’ Assistant (Anaesthesia), abbreviated to PA(A), will replace it in all current and future RCoA and AAGBI documents, guidelines and publications. This change has been made in the interests of accuracy, clarity and consistency.

There are several non-medically qualified healthcare practitioners currently working in the UK under the title Anaesthesia Practitioner who have not completed the appropriate course. This name is not a “protected title” as described in legislation, and it may therefore continue to be misused in this way.

The new title is in line with that currently being used for equivalent grades working with physicians, general practitioners and surgeons. In addition, Physicians’ Assistant (Anaesthesia) is the formal title already in use in Scotland for those who have successfully completed the RCoA/AAGBI recognised course.

This standardisation of title is aimed at accelerating the route to appropriate registration for this group of specialty-trained healthcare workers, encompassing all who have the descriptor Physicians’ Assistant followed by the specialty suffix, e.g. Anaesthesia. Regulation for this body of expertise is long overdue and any logical change, such as this, that will hasten the process to formal registration is warmly welcomed to support appropriate professional recognition and clarity for patients.

Patient surveys, including one of 16,000 patients by the Royal College of General Practitioners, have provided compelling evidence that the title Physicians’ Assistant is better understood by patients and is their preferred name for the role, which also more accurately describes the purpose and responsibility of this group.

David K Whitaker
President, AAGBI

For information please contact Claire Elliott, Communications Officer, 020 7631 8817, press@aagbi.org