The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) has called on the Government to legally protect the job title 'surgeon', so only those who have qualified as a medical doctor and undertaken post-graduate surgical training can use the title. The call follows publication of a survey for its patient group, which found that 95% of adults in Great Britain would expect an individual using the job title 'surgeon' to have a medical degree.

The poll, carried out by ICM, reveals the overwhelming level of public trust that surgeons are medically qualified, despite the fact that there are no legal restrictions about who can and can't be called a surgeon.

The RCS says protection, such as that enjoyed by solicitors and other legal sector professionals, would avoid confusion and prevent patients thinking they are being treated in the NHS by a 'surgeon' when that person does not hold a medical degree and is not a surgical specialist. There is a high level of public support for the move, with 92% of respondents agreeing that the job title should be restricted by law.

The patient group's chair, Sue Woodward, said: "Currently patients are being left in the dark and cannot make informed decisions about their treatment. The law must be changed so only those who have undertaken the extensive medical training it takes to become a surgeon can use this title. This will avoid patients misunderstanding the qualification of the person treating them in the future."

In the NHS and private practice, non-medically qualified practitioners who use the title surgeon include podiatric surgeons and aesthetic surgeons. Podiatric surgeons have not completed a medical degree but have instead trained only in the surgical and non-surgical treatment of the foot, which – while making them experts in that field – leaves them unable to treat the patient as a whole. An aesthetic surgeon may not have a medical degree and may not have undertaken any specialist surgical training.

Professor Norman Williams, president of the RCS, said: "It is extremely worrying that, in the health sector, clarity regarding job titles is lacking. Patients undergoing treatment have a right to know the credentials of the person to whom they are entrusting their safety. The law can be very strict in protecting working titles and we believe the same legal cover should be extended to the title surgeon."