In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, an anaesthesia associate (AA) is a healthcare worker who provides

anaesthesia Anesthesia (American English) or anaesthesia (British English) is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prev ...

under the medical direction and supervision of a

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

anaesthetist (who is a

medical doctor A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

). Anaesthesia associates complete a 27-month full-time training programme which leads to the award of a postgraduate diploma, or alternatively a 24-month training programme via

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

leading to a master's degree. It is classed as a medical associate profession. To be eligible, a candidate must have a previous degree in a biomedical or science subject, or recognised previous healthcare experience in another role. The role was introduced into the UK

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

in 2004, under the title of Anaesthesia Practitioner. This was later changed to physicians' assistant (anaesthesia), abbreviated to PA(A). The Association of Physicians' Assistants Anaesthesia changed the name of their role to Anaesthesia Associates in July 2019. In July 2019, the UK government announced its intention to request that the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the pu ...

(GMC) would in future regulate anaesthesia associates as a distinct profession. The GMC started regulation of the profession in December 2024 and also provided quality assurance of all three of the AA courses in the UK in April 2025. Serious concerns about the lack of regulation, transparency of professional background, and scope of practise, of anaesthesia associates have been raised by Anaesthetists United, a grass-roots group of anaesthetists, triggering an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) on 17 October 2023. All six motions were passes with significant majorities including on a call to pause recruitment of AAs until the RCoA consultation had been completed and the professional standard to inform patients clearly when AAs are involved in their care and their role.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=May 2025 Anesthesia Health care occupations