Other doctors have said that allowing nurses to perform minor surgery is akin to entrusting air hostesses with the controls of an aircraft.

Their comments appear on Doctors.net.uk, a website for GPs and hospital consultants, where they urge their union, the British Medical Association (BMA), to tell the public that nurses are not qualified to operate on them.

One doctor wrote: “I would not have anyone who is not medically qualified doing any sort of medical procedure on any member of my family.

“I want the doctors to do the doctoring and the nurses to do the nursing. Old-fashioned I may be, but would you let an air hostess fly the plane with your family in it?” Another doctor posted a message saying: “A nurse who learns how to do a carpal tunnel (an operation to release trapped nerves in the wrist) instantly thinks they are the best thing since sliced bread. Unfortunately, they do not realise they have a tad more to learn than one uneventful procedure before becoming a surgeon. In effect, they are stupid but don’t realise it. Just like Butt-head.” More than 130 doctors agreed on the website.

A doctor who urged the BMA to “put the boot in” won the support of more than 200 postings. Doctors suggest running advertisements stating: “For financial advice I don’t ask a bank teller, I ask an accountant. For legal advice I don’t ask a policeman, I ask a lawyer. For medical advice I choose to speak to a doctor.”

Another suggestion for the advertising campaign is: “Top grades at A-level, five years of university training, then a minimum of three years further practice. Make sure you take your advice from someone who has done their homework.”

Reforms introduced by the government allow nurses to carry out tasks previously performed by junior doctors. These include investigations into the gullet or stomach and minor surgery to remove small lesions, benign moles and cysts. Nurses carrying out these duties are often called nurse practitioners or nurse consultants. Nurses are also starting to prescribe medicines.

Doctors are particularly concerned about a new grade of NHS staff called medical care practitioners. The jobs will be given to nurses or science graduates who have carried out two years of training.

The BMA is working on a “Who’s Who” campaign to inform the public of the rank and qualifications of NHS staff treating them. This is unlikely to run such hostile adverts.

Alan Russell, deputy chairman of the BMA’s consultants committee, said: “Patients should have the right to be treated by a qualified doctor.”

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