FOI request
I am researching the expansion of Medical Associate Professionals within the NHS. This term covers Physician Associates (previously called Physician Assistants) and Anaesthesia Associates. I am writing to request any data HSSIB holds on patient safety reports, concerns, incidents and investigations related to Medical Associate Professionals (MAPs), including:
Patient safety reports
- The total number of safety concerns reported to HSSIB involving Medical Associate Professionals.
- A categorised breakdown of these reports by type and severity (e.g., near misses, no harm, mild, moderate, severe harm, or death).
- Anonymised free text descriptions of these incidents, adhering to data protection standards.
Investigations
- Details of any past or ongoing investigations into patient safety issues involving MAPs.
Internal documents
- Any internal HSSIB documents related to MAPs (e.g. briefing documents, presentations etc.)
Timeframe: from 1 October 2023 (inception of HSSIB).
Please let me know if any issues or further clarifications are needed to facilitate this request. I understand the need for redaction of personal information to comply with data protection laws.
Decision
HSSIB’s response can be found below in bold:
Patient safety reports
- The total number of safety concerns reported to HSSIB involving Medical Associate Professionals.
One patient safety concern has been reported to HSSIB involving Medical Associate Professionals. For transparency and clarity, the safety concern was not raised by a member of the public but was raised via external stakeholder engagement.
- A categorised breakdown of these reports by type and severity (e.g., near misses, no harm, mild, moderate, severe harm, or death).
The one report received indicated that the physical outcome was ‘Death’. This report was already in the public domain.
- Anonymised free text descriptions of these incidents, adhering to data protection standards.
HSSIB did not receive specific data about an incident, but was informed, via external stakeholders, of a widely reported case in relation to a death of a patient who was seen and treated by a Physician Associate. This case had been publicly reported.
Investigations
- Details of any past or ongoing investigations into patient safety issues involving MAPs.
None.
Internal documents
- Any internal HSSIB documents related to MAPs (e.g. briefing documents, presentations etc.)
There is a reference to Physician Associates in our Board Papers from 14 August 2024. The reference to Physician Associate appears at page 30 of the Board Pack.