AN OPEN letter signed by 13,000 doctors has been sent to political leaders ahead of tomorrow’s election, warning of risks to patient safety if concerns around medical associate professions (MAPs) are ignored. 

The letter, co-ordinated by the British Medical Association, highlights evidence of MAPs being routinely substituted for doctors and the worrying trend in general practice funding that has led to physician associates working as GPs.

Prof Phil Banfield, chair of the BMA council, said doctors’ skills are being “demeaned, devalued and even replaced,” and called on the incoming government to “turn this policy disaster around.”