The College of Medical Associate Professionals (CMAPs) welcomes the government consultation on the draft General Medical Council (GMC) Order 2026.  

This legislation will reform how the GMC regulates medical professionals – Doctors, Physician Associates, and Anaesthesia Associates – and will consider regulatory reform recommendations made by Lord Mann in his ‘rapid review’ into antisemitism and other forms of racism within the NHS.  

We fully support this aspect of the legislative reform and hope that this consultation brings about a work environment that is inclusive, safe, and supportive of our Jewish medical colleagues and those from other minority communities who contribute so much to our healthcare system.  

However, the draft GMC Order also seeks to implement recommendations 1 and 9 of the Leng Review, including a proposed name change of Physician Associates (PA) to ‘Physician Assistant’ and Anaesthesia Associates (AA) to ‘Physician Assistant in Anaesthesia’.  

CMAPs have significant concerns regarding the proposed changes to job titles; especially whilst the Leng review is under scrutiny from judicial review. It is therefore premature to implement changes of this magnitude at this time. 

Furthermore, CMAPs is not aware of any published evidence that changing ‘associate’ to ‘assistant’ improves patient understanding, reduces complaints, or meaningfully addresses the concerns identified in the Review. A change to professional titles, with implications for a regulated profession/workforce, should be underpinned by clear and robust evidence that it will achieve its stated purpose. 

The original intent of the Leng Review was to assess the safety and efficacy of PAs and AAs. A change in professional title, without supporting evidence, risks diminishing the perceived status of the professions without justification. For PAs,reverting to a title that was deliberately discontinued in 2013 introduces policy inconsistency and risks undermining confidence amongst employers, educators, and the profession itself.  

These changes are unnecessary and risk further destabilising a workforce that has already experienced sustained scrutiny over recent years.  Medical Associate Professionals have played a vital role in supporting NHS services during the COVID-19 pandemic and the BMA Resident Doctor Strikes, consistently delivering high-quality, patient-centred care.  Furthermore, we urge the consultation to give balanced and equitable consideration to MAP perspectives and to evidence that challenges the Leng title-change recommendations, and to ensure the process is not influenced by parties seeking to undermine or discredit MAPs. 

Finally, CMAPs notes that the draft Order already incorporates the proposed new titles, and that several royal colleges have adopted the ‘physician assistant’ terminology prior to the close of this consultation. Such pre-emptive institutional adoption risks undermining the the integrity and perceived value of the consultation process. 

Whilst CMAPs will engage with the consultation process in good faith, we consider it essential to state our concerns on behalf of our membership and profession.  We remain committed to constructive engagement with the Department of Health and Social Care and the GMC in shaping an effective and evidence-based regulatory framework for PAs and AAs.   

A copy of the consultation paper can be found here, at: Reforming the General Medical Council legislative framework – GOV.UK 

A detailed response to this consultation has been published on the CMAPs website, and CMAPs encourages all members to submit individual responses in addition to this institutional submission.