DOCTORS have warned that plans to increase the use of physician associates in the NHS could lead to a two-tier healthcare system and put vulnerable lives at risk.
They fear patients' access to fully qualified GPs could be hampered by the changes - unless they go private.
Physician associates, or PAs, do not attend medical school, instead completing only a two-year postgraduate course.
They were intended to help doctors with everyday tasks, working under supervision.
But doctors told us PAs increasingly give medical advice and treatment.
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