Welcome to Wessex

Welcome! This is brief starter pack written by some of our trainees to give you a few pointers for how Paeds training works in Wessex.

It’s got sections on;
  • Who’s who at the deanery?
  • Regional hospitals and retrieval/transport services
  • College tutors
  • Training and Job Preferences
  • PREP = Paediatric Regional Education Programme & RCPCH ‘Stepping Up’
  • Study leave and courses
  • ARCP = Annual Review of Competency Progression
  • Regional resources
  • Support
  • Other bits and bobs; PAFTAs, OOP, LTFT Training, RCPCH Training guide
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We are a small, super friendly region that works together to try and ensure trainees have an excellent learning environment and are proud of the opportunities that trainees have to develop our training as well as paediatric services further. Once you’ve settled into the Wessex Paeds family, if you think of something else that could/should be added to this guide then please email admin@piernetwork.org with details. 
Who's Who at the Deanery?
Also look at the Paediatrics section deanery website for more information and contact details. https://wessex.hee.nhs.uk/school-of-paediatrics/
Who's Who in the Trainee Committee?
Regional Hospitals & Retrieval/Transport Services
Our training placements are in the hospitals as follows;
  • University Hospital Southampton;
    • Tertiary centre and Major Trauma Centre
      • Specialities include;
        • Allergy and Immunology
        • Nephro-urology
        • Paediatric Orthopaedics
        • Cardiology & Cardiothoracics
        • Neurology
        • Paediatric Surgery
        • Diabetes + Endocrinology
        • Neurosurgery
        • PICU & PHDU 
        • Gastroenterology
        • Oncology and Haematology
        • Respiratory
        • Paediatric ENT
        • Rheumatology
        • Infectious Diseases
        • Paediatric Ophthalmology
        • Sleep Service
  • Princess Anne Hospital (Southampton);
    • Tertiary NICU (including surgery & cardiac)
  • Queen Alexandra Hospital (Portsmouth); Paediatrics + NICU (non-surgical)
  • Hampshire Hospital Foundation Trust (HHFT)
    • Royal Hampshire County Hospital (Winchester); Paediatrics + LNU (local neonatal unit)
    • North Hampshire Hospital (Basingstoke); Paediatrics + LNU
    • Salisbury District Hospital; paediatrics (and regional burns, plastics & cleft service) + LNU
    • Poole Hospital; paediatrics + LNU
    • Dorset County Hospital (Dorchester); paediatrics + SCBU

Note; there is Gen Paeds and a LNU on the Isle of Wight, but this is not a training hospital. 

We also have 2 regional transport/retrieval services which are both combined with Oxford to cover the Thames Valley and Wessex region.
  • SORT (Southampton Oxford Retrieval Team)
    • www.sort.nhs.uk
    • 02380 775502
    • This is our regional paediatric retrieval service that is part of PICU i.e. fully staffed by intensivists. You can access PICU consultant advice 24/7 – they will expect you to have discussed with your own consultant first. The website is invaluable as a source of information for seriously unwell or injured paediatric patients, including sections on;
      • How to refer a patient
      • PICU Drug calculator for emergency drugs
      • Clinical guidelines (mostly “quick reference” style algorithms) for common diagnoses/presentations
      • PICU Drug infusion guide Note; urgent/time critical neurosurgical referrals should go directly via SORT and not to the neurosurgeons – SORT will liaise with the neurosurgical team, arrange transport and a bed. Registrars in PICU get the chance to be a member of SORT.
  • SONeT (Southampton and Oxford Neonatal Transport)
    • www.sort.nhs.uk
    • 01865 223344
    • This our regional neonatal transport team that is based in Princess Anne Hospital. They do emergency retrieval, planned transfers and repatriations. Again, their website is really useful including sections on;
      • How to refer a patient
      • Neonatal Cot Dashboard
      • Drug Calculator for emergency drugs
      • Clinical guidelines Registrars in Princess Anne Hospital get the chance to be a member of the SONeT team.
College Tutors
College Tutors are the RCPCH representative in each NHS Trust. Each Tutor has a duty to keep up to date with standards in education and training, new educational initiatives and changes to the curriculum, examinations and assessments
Training & Job Preferences
Grid training options available in Wessex (*some twinned with other centres)
There are Community paediatrics placements in Portsmouth, Southampton, both HHFT sites, Poole and Dorchester. The OOH components are in Gen Paeds in the local/base hospital except in Southampton where your OOH shifts are in the co-located Paeds ED and assessment unit.

Regarding job preferences, the deanery emails a form annually asking for information about your training rotations to date, your career intentions and you will be asked to rank the available jobs (for your training level) in order of preference. This information is then used to determine rotations of which you will be informed by email.

​We have 4 trainee reps who represent us at school board; Fiona Hignett, Vicky Ivison, Rachel King and Annelies Mitchel. Amongst other things, they have created a “Wessex Paeds guide to jobs” giving details about each of the training centres/jobs available throughout your training which can be found on the PIER website (see PIER section for details). 
PREP = Paediatric Regional Education Programme
Our regional training days are split into 4 groups according to training level to cover the curriculum; 
Details of training days can be found on the PIER website (see below for more details)
www.piernetwork.org/trainees
​Most rota coordinators take PREP days into consideration when writing rotas and you should be released to attend unless you are working nights (you may have to return to work to do an evening on call). All trainees are expected to attend at least 70% (or pro rata if LTFT) of sessions and attendance registers are sent back to the deanery. If you are having trouble getting to enough sessions, talk to your Educational Supervisor. For trainee led sessions you will have the opportunity to complete a LEADER assessment based on your organisation of the day. There are a range of resources on PIER to help with organisation.

​In addition, Wessex is part of the RCPCH ‘Stepping Up’ Initiative which supports the five-year period from completion of the RCPCH Start assessment (Specialty Trainee 7+) to the end of year three consultancy. Meetings are held every 2-3 months and cover a variety of topics – plus provide a helpful support group.
Study Leave & Courses
Since April 2018, our study budget has been centralised and has no limit to funding as long as certain conditions are met. Essential RCPCH courses are automatically covered; APLS, NLS and Child Protection level 3
Details of training days can be found on the PIER website (see below for more details)
www.piernetwork.org/trainees
​The process for Study leave should be (in this order);
  1. Discussed with your Educational Supervisor
  2. Your shift should be covered on the rota (how this happens depends where you work)
  3. Applied for via Intrepid www.intrepidv10.co.uk/HEE
  4. Reclaim expenses from your employing trust vis their local process

Throughout your training, there are a range of mandatory courses but don’t forget to make sure you explore some other avenues that interest you too. Places to looks for available courses include;
ARCP = Annual Review of Competency Progression
This is an annual appraisal that reviews the evidence in your eportfolio and gives you your ARCP "outcome” i.e. whether you can progress to the next year of training. The main “round” happens in June/July, but this may be altered if you’re out of sync due to time OOP/LTFT/parental leave etc.

All ARCPs across the country are now done without trainee in attendance - a panel of supervisors/clinicians and a lay person will review your ePortfolio to ensure that you have;
  • Completed an induction meeting and end of placement report with your Educational Supervisor
  • A Personal Development Plan and a range of reflections
  • Evidence of progression through the relevant curricula (and evidence of key capabilities)
  • WPBAs (Work Place Based Assessments), Life Support and Child Protection certification
  • An Educational Supervisors report
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​There will often also be a face to face educational review offered to give you the chance to discuss your career plans with your TPD and how you aim to achieve them. 
Regional Resources
​
PIER is a collaboration of multidisciplinary health professionals working to improve the care of children and young people in the South of England. Its rasion d’etre is to support integrated, child and family centered care at all levels through multi-professional collaboration, shared learning, spread of innovation and original research.

The regional guidelines and educational courses (many set up by trainees) are highly regarded. The website includes;
  • Regionally agreed guidelines (trainees are encouraged to get involved in writing/updating these)
  • Links to regional clinical networks
  • Regional contact details so you can avoid waiting endlessly for switch to pick up!
  • Details about PREP days
  • Details of the annual PIER conference, usually held in October
  • Other educational courses/events (to attend and/or teach on)
 
​An STP initiative to improve the quality of care for children and young people in Wessex through supporting use of single pathways for common conditions across primary care and the interface with secondary care . It has clinical information and guidance for parents/carers as well as a range of healthcare professionals that may have contact with children on a regular basis. On top of clinical guidance, there is also a huge range of regionally agreed Parent Information Leaflets which are widely used in across Wessex and can helpfully be SMS’d direct to parents’ phones. Additionally, there is information specifically for pregnant mums or those with newborns as well as a variety of resources aimed at ensuring our adolescent patients get good advice when they go online.
Support
Wessex has a voluntary Wessex Buddies scheme which is currently being reviewed and revived. The aim of this is for ST1-3 trainees who want a “buddy” to be paired with an ST4+ trainee to provide friendly help, guidance, support and encouragement. The new and improved version will be coming soon to www.wessexmentors.com

Working in healthcare is hard and will have ups & downs for everyone. If you’re finding things difficult, whether it be clinical work, exams, assessments, home life, health or mental health issues, or anything else, there are a bunch of ways you can get some help.

Firstly, tell someone. It might be your family, friends, colleagues, trainee reps, Educational supervisor, college tutor or TPD - whoever you feel you can talk to. For health or mental health issues, try the Occupational Health department in your hospital – they will likely have access to counselling if needed.

The PSU (Professional Support Unit) at the deanery offers support to any trainee struggling for any reason, despite local support – you will need to be “referred” by your Educational Supervisor so talk to them first.

The deanery has a really valuable programme called SuppoRTT (Supported Return to Training) to help trainees coming back to training after time out for any reason. Resources available include;
  • Funding for up to 3 paid “re-orientation days” before the return date (these are different than and in addition to KiT Keeping in Touch days)
  • Dedicated return to training courses
  • Access to a mentor for support
  • 3 professional development coaching sessions.

Full details including the relevant forms for pre-absence and pre-return can be found on the deanery website wessex.hee.nhs.uk/trainee-information/trainee-journey/supported-return-to-training
Other Bits & Bobs
  • PAFTAs (Paediatric Awards for Training Achievements)

The PAFTAs were born in Wessex and have since become a national phenomenon to celebrate the amazing work of paediatric trainees, consultants, nurses and all the other wonderful people that are in our team. Each year, everyone is invited to nominate anyone who works in paediatrics for an award and the winners are announced at the annual PAFTA event which is usually held in conjunction with the PIER conference. You can find more details on the PIER website www.piernetwork.org/paftas2020

  • OOP (Out of Programme)
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If you are interested in taking some time out of programme (OOP), there are 4 recognised options; OOPE (experience), OOPT (training), OOPR (research) or OOPP (pause). Wessex has many fellowships within the deanery (e.g. Quality Improvement or Simulation) as well as international links. Speak to your Educational Supervisor in the first instance and/or ask other trainees – between us all we have a pretty wide range of experience!

Wessex are supportive of trainees getting involved in research and there are a range of opportunities and resources available regionally. You can find more details on the PIER website www.piernetwork.org/research

  • ​LTFT Training = Less Than Full Time Training

The national pilot of LTFT training has been extended to include Paediatrics; the first round of the pilot in ED trainees reported improvements in trainees work-life balance and improved job satisfaction. If you’re interested, have a chat with your Educational Supervisor and for details about the application process have a look at the deanery website wessex.hee.nhs.uk/trainee-information/trainee-journey/less-than-full-timetraining

  • ​RCPCH Training Guide

​There is a comprehensive guide to training as a paediatrician on the RCPCH website. It includes written information and webinars on the trainee charter and toolkit; e.Portfolio; curriculum and exams and assessments www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/training-guide
Author
Ashley Towers
Version 1.5
​September 2022