Welcome to the Kent, Surrey and Sussex (KSS) School of Psychiatry webpage.
Training in psychiatry across KSS combines full training programmes and academic opportunities as well as access to the wealth of academic activity in London – and in parallel you can enjoy our towns, countryside, and coastline while taking advantage of all London’s attractions and cultural interests.
The team
The school is led by the Head of School and the Training Programme Directors who manage the individual training programmes (Core and Higher Specialty) and review the progress of trainees. The team is also supported by the London and South East Healthcare Education Team (HET). To find out more about the team and their contact details, please visit the Meet the Team webpage here.
Training Programmes
Our training programmes in KSS include:
- Core Psychiatry
- Higher Specialty Psychiatry – Child and Adolescent
- Higher Specialty Psychiatry – Dual Psychotherapy and General Adult
- Higher Specialty Psychiatry – Forensics
- Higher Specialty Psychiatry – General Adult, Old Age and Dual
Where will I train?
There are three mental health trusts in KSS:
- Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
- Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
To find out more about each training location, please visit the Local Education Provider (LEPs) webpage.
Each of the three mental health trusts delivering our training across the region offers a wide range of experience and local academic programmes with teaching opportunities. There are also psychotherapy tutors in all our LEPs who deliver the core and higher curricular requirements.
There are also child and adolescent psychiatry placements in Kent and Medway, led by North East London NHS Foundation Trust. Please visit North East London NHS Foundation Trust website to find out more.
Forensic trainees also have a specialist placement at Broadmoor psychiatric Hospital at West London NHS Trust. Please visit West London NHS Trust website to find out more.
Opportunities
Amongst our academic opportunities, the KSS School of Psychiatry offers MRCPsych Courses and a fully-funded PGCert which can progress to MSc, an embedded Clinical Leadership in Practice Scheme, and support with research and fellowships.
To find out more about the School of Psychiatry opportunities, please visit the dedicated Opportunities webpage here.
Managing and improving training
HEE KSS manages and improves training in psychiatry through training committees (at three levels), the GMC training survey, and visits.
Local faculty groups (LFGs)
LFGs bring together the postgraduate centre team and all Educational Supervisors to deal with the local delivery of training and to review the progress of all doctors in training. LFGs may be based in local “patches” across KSS or be for a particular training group (as in the SASG LFG in Sussex) or, where convenient, cover the whole Trust.
The local academic board (LABs)
Each trust meets three times a year to cover educational strategy and development, and to monitor the quality of training. It brings in Library and Information Services and Trust senior management (usually the Medical Director) with Finance and HR.
The LAB receives reports on the quality of education and training (from visits and contract reviews, and the GMC Survey) and the LFG minutes. Items from the LABs come to the School of Psychiatry. Doctors requiring additional support are identified in the closed business part of the LAB.
The Annual GMC Training Survey
Online completion of the training survey is a training requirement. Results are published online, and individual comments on patient safety and on training are forwarded in confidence to the relevant Deanery for investigation and action.
The KSS Quality team sends summaries of outliers (indicating significantly good and bad training performance) to local education providers for discussion at LFGs and LABs, to prepare responses back.
Quality visits to local education providers
All core and selected higher specialty trainees are visited in each local education provider in a three year cycle, which may be brought forward in targeted visits. Visits are usually led by the Head of School, and in addition to the KSS members the panel has an external visitor and may also include a Lay Representative and a trainee representative from a different programme.
Visits to the three mental health trusts in KSS usually combine the Schools of Psychiatry, Foundation and General Practice. The team meets all trainees (in groups, by grade or specialty) as well as the medical education team and trust senior management. Areas of concern or good practice are reported back to the KSS Quality team to agree a report to the local education training providers, including required actions and recommendations.