The New Dark Age

Wednesday, 7 May 2025 — Crowd Justice

Quack Medicine

To lose a child is so very painful. It is not the right order of this world. 

However, to lose a child and then discover it was avoidable is the worst pain ever. 

Our legal challenge will be heard in Court on May 13th over the GMC’s failure to properly regulate Physician Associates (PAs) and Anaesthesia Associates (AAs). The case is being brought by the bereaved parents of Emily Chesterton and by Anaesthetists United.

We are still short of funds.

We would also be very grateful if you could share this with friends and colleagues, perhaps by forwarding this email.

This case is hugely important to the NHS and the health of the public; please help us to win.

The Background

PAs and AAs were introduced to help doctors by taking on some clinical tasks under supervision. They have only a fraction of the training that doctors do, and their training is geared towards working in an assistant capacity. Yet increasingly they are being used to diagnose, treat, and manage patients, often without proper supervision, and leaving their patients unaware that they have seen an associate rather than a doctor.

Parliament recognised these dangers. It took regulation of associates away from the Medical Royal Colleges and gave the GMC strong powers to set firm and strict rules, which it has not used. Instead, it has merely created a hollow regulatory system, recycling the processes it uses for doctors, despite knowing that associates have very different roles, training, and risks.

This is irrational and breaks both

• The letter of the law – which requires the regulator to consult, set and review the standards of ‘Experience and Performance’ for associates, and
• The spirit of the law – which gives the regulator an overarching objective of protecting the public.

And these failings have already led to avoidable deaths.

Emily Chesterton died needlessly, after an unsupervised PA failed to recognise a life-threatening condition. She believed she was seeing a doctor. So did her parents. She wasn’t.

Her mother will give a witness statement to the court describing not just what happened to Emily but also her meeting with Mr Massey of the GMC who promised her “No more Emilys”.

Despite the overwhelming calls from the Medical Royal Colleges, academics, coroners and the public itself, the GMC has steadfastly refused to set proper safeguards and controls over what associates can do to patients. The ongoing Leng review is also expected to demand changes – but these changes have to happen quickly. Which is why this legal action is both urgent and necessary.

Scientific evidence on PA safety

The latest study in the British Medical Journal  found no evidence that physician associates add value in general practice, and some evidence that they may not. Similar concerns exist about the cost-effectiveness of anaesthesia associates.

The GMC attempted to prevent the court from seeing this data, but our legal team persuaded the judge that it must be considered.

The Medical Women’s Federation has also endorsed this case. They highlight:

• The risks to patient safety from PAs working without a clear scope of practice
• PAs ordering tests they may not be competent to interpret
• The disproportionate impact on women in medicine, especially in training

About the legal case

We are asking the High Court to declare the GMC’s current approach is unlawful, irrational, and contrary to Parliament’s intent to protect patient safety.

This case has been made possible thanks to over £200,000 in public donations; a remarkable show of solidarity from both doctors and concerned patients. As the hearing approaches, we hope many more will stand with us and donate to our Crowdjustice page. We have also received significant funding from the BMA and the Doctors Association for which we are immensely grateful.

The case was granted Permission and Expedition without a hearing – with Mr Justice Chamberlain observing in the early stages of the case that “The claim raises serious issues of importance to the relevant professions and to patients” (the GMC tried to claim our case was hopeless and could not even be argued).

The legal team acting for Anaesthetists United and the Chesterton family are

• Blackstones (barristers) and
• Bindmans (solicitors)

The system failed Emily. We are going to court to stop it from failing others.