26th January 2023
£9 billion wasted on PPE
£9.9 billion of the £13.6 billion worth of PPE that the government bought between 2020 and 2022 was unusable. Ministers have been accused of throwing away taxpayers’ money “as if it were confetti”.
Hospital pathology outsourcing costs £100 million
Whittington Health Trust is outsourcing its pathology services to a private firm at a cost of £100 million. It claims it will gain greater economies and efficiencies, but at what cost to the service it gives?
I’d rather see a doctor
Following a patient death caused by a misdiagnosis by a physician assistant, Nigel Edwards of the Nuffield Trust says “I’d rather see a doctor”.
MAPs: the dangers of experience without training
It must be obligatory for the new physician assistant and anaesthetic assistant roles to declare to the patient that they are not fully-qualified doctors. Do the new roles dilute healthcare quality? Is it experience without proper training?
MAPs: reports of minimal supervision
It;s clear that such is the workload, most GPs simply do not have the time to adequately supervise their physician assistants. See Helen Salisbury article.