Medical care practitioners: introducing a new profession into the UK.

The NHS is suffering from a serious shortage of qualified medical staff. One possible solution is to introduce medical care practitioners (MCPs) (USA-style physician assistants) into the healthcare team. This article examines the history and role of PAs, as well as some of the issues concerning the role, and how other health professionals might perceive it. The article also describes one MCP programme that has already started in Britain at Wolverhampton University. The use of MCPs in the UK appears to offer a potential solution to reduce the current skill shortage in this country.