It’s taken a week and more twists and backflips than Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, but Queensland Health’s plans for employing physician assistants — a role that has alarmed doctors overseas — finally seem clear.

The dramas began last week with documents shared on social media site X (formerly Twitter), which suggested Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service had plans to recruit more physician assistants (PAs) across its five hospitals.

The health service had three full-time equivalent PA roles since 2020, but the snippets of a business case seemed to imply more were coming.

It described the role as involving “history-taking, physical examination, ordering pathology and imaging, prescribing specific medications and delivering emergency treatment”.