Key Summary
- Great Ormond Street Hospital was using physician associates to fill the personnel shortage during surgeries
- The CQC also found that the trust had a shortage of nurses trained to carry out tracheostomies
- The inspectors said the level of governance was "inconsistent" in some specialty areas
A leading children's hospital in London has been pulled up by the NHS watchdog for using doctors’ assistants to fill its surgical rota.
During an inspection in October 2024, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found that Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) was using physician associates (PAs), now called doctors’ assistants, to fill gaps for registrars due to short staffing, Independent reports.
The use of physician associates by the NHS came into the spotlight following the death of Emily Chesterton in 2022.
She died from a pulmonary embolism after being misdiagnosed twice by a PA, who she believed to be a doctor, at a GP surgery in London.
The government had ordered an independent review, chaired by Professor Gillian Leng, and accepted its 18 recommendations.
The review mooted that PAs should be renamed and only see patients in limited circumstances.
They will wear standardised clothing and badges to distinguish them from doctors.
The CQC also found that the hospital had a shortage of nurses trained to carry out tracheostomies.
The inspectors said the level of governance was "inconsistent" in some specialty areas.
Staff in several parts of the hospital were not clear about who was responsible for clinical care.
The inspectors also came across a 2023 incident when surgeons at the hospital were forced to halt an operation due to a power cut.
