TUC president and POA leader STEVE GILLAN speaks to Ben Chacko on the eve of Congress 2026
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The backdoor changes in ‘medical associate’ roles are intended to confuse and increase profits
The expansion of ‘physician associates’ is intended to blur the lines between doctors and non-doctors to make the NHS more profitable for big business. We must take every opportunity to end it, says CLAUDIA WEBBE MP
Staff on a NHS hospital ward, October 3, 2014
DOUG NICHOLLS welcomes a turning point at this year’s Congress, where many motions call for a co-ordinated plan to revive British industry, a perspective outlined in his new book
HOPE VIRGO of campaign Dump the Scales warns MPs voting today they should be alert to the threat legalised assisted death poses to people with eating disorders
The Together Alliance is hosting two summits, North and South, to build power and plan action against the scourge of racism peddled by the right. DANIEL KEBEDE urges mass participation
The drift toward militarisation in Europe is not inevitable, left-wing and peace movements can preserve sovereignty and prevent war, says DÁIRE HUGHES MP
Whatever differences exist among international sympathisers of the Bolivarian revolution about its current trajectory, they should unite against the imperialist power that is the source of an enforced retreat, argues ROGER D HARRIS
Trade unions need to step up and force a turn in the policies of the labour movement to effectively confront the far-right threat, argues NICK WRIGHT
SINCE warnings were first raised about the dangers of the government’s plans to expand the use, and in many cases the responsibilities, of “physician associates” and “anaesthetist associates,” the issue has begun to gain traction in the public mind.
At first, almost no politicians were coming out against the government’s planned backdoor legislation, by means of a scarcely scrutinised “statutory instrument,” changing the regulation of associate roles.
Under the new instrument, these will be regulated by the General Medical Council (GMC), the body that regulates doctors, even though these new roles do not have medical training.
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