How we adapted the T&O inpatient service during the COVID-19 pandemic with physician associates to support the orthopaedic team.

Introduction: In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were increasing demands on medical and intensive care departments in the UK. Medical staff from surgical departments were redeployed. The aim of this study was to determine whether the department was able to maintain standards with the use of the physician associate / medical doctor (PA/MD) model of care.

Methods: A mix of questionnaires and audit data was collected prospectively and compared with pre-COVID and the general surgical team which did not have PAs.

Results: Sixty-five per cent of responses indicated an improvement compared with pre-COVID conditions and 35% indicated care was the same. The electronic discharge notification audit showed an 89% completion rate for orthopaedics compared with 73% for general surgery. Venous thromboembolism assessment compliance was better compared with general surgery.

Conclusion: Overall, the study supports the hypothesis that a PA/MD model of care is non-inferior to a MD-only model of care and was effective.