March 2024

Please see below for our KSS March bulletin.

Highly Important

KSS Foundation School F2 Swaps

All applicants and trusts will be notified of the outcomes by Thursday 28th March 2024. A gentle reminder that the Foundation School Directors decision is final. If your application is unsuccessful, you will be notified of the reason for this decision and there is no option for appeal.

Inter-Foundation School Transfers (IFST)

The IFST application window for the 2024-2025 training year opened on 7th March 2024. Any current doctors who are considering an IFST must first discuss this with their local Foundation Training Programme Director and/or Foundation team. The application timeline, details of the application process, forms and guidance are available on the UKFPO website: https://foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/resources/inter-foundation-school-transfer-process/.

Enquiries and completed applications should be submitted to england.kssfoundationenquiries.se@nhs.net.

Special Circumstances

If you are due to start FY1 in August 2024, or are a current trainee due to start FY2 in August 2024, and you have experienced an exceptional change in circumstances since you applied to the foundation training programme which affects your ability to complete training in your current location, you will have the opportunity to apply to move Foundation Programmes within Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

We are only able to consider an exceptional change in circumstances that can be evidenced and will not consider any requests for programme swaps between doctors who have had no change to their personal circumstances. Please note that this is an application to change your location within the Kent, Surrey & Sussex foundation school and not to any other Foundation Schools.

The criteria are outlined in the IFSTs 2024 guidance on the UKFPO website https://foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/resources/inter-foundation-school-transfer-process/ :

1. Parental responsibilities
2. Primary carer responsibilities
3. Medical condition or disability for which ongoing follow-up for the condition in the specified location is an absolute requirement
4. Unique circumstances (these must be unique, not other circumstances which do not meet the requirements for the other criteria)

Process:

1. From 01 April 2024 – 14 April 2024: The application window opens for change in exceptional circumstance via the online form , applicants must also email in accompanying evidence to england.kssfoundationenquiries.se@nhs.net.
2. 14 April 2024 11:59pm: Application window closes, the applications are then reviewed by the KSS Foundation team for accuracy and then sent to the Foundation School Director and Deputy Director for approval.
3. 14 May 2024: All applicants will be notified of the outcome. (Please do not email us chasing for outcomes prior to this date).

Please note:

• Both the special circumstances form and evidence must be completed by 11:59 14^th April 2024, applications received without evidence will not be considered.
• Late applications will not be accepted.
• There is no opportunity to appeal the outcome from the KSS Foundation school

Due to the limited number of alternative programmes available, all successful applications are subject to suitable vacancy at the preferred location. Therefore, we cannot guarantee you will be able to move to an alternative trust.

Industrial action and time out of training (TOOT)

The national guidance and FAQs published earlier this year remains in effect and has not changed. The guidance can be found here.

For the foundation programme, it states: –

All Foundation doctors have a 20-day absence allowance (per year) for sick leave, compassionate leave. This is particularly important in Foundation Year 1 (FY1) as this is a time-based programme, with each FY1 doctor having to complete 12 months training pro rata.

If a Foundation doctor has more time off than this, a review of their performance is triggered, but this does not mean an automatic extension to training.

In the event of doctors in training taking industrial action in 2023, then any time absent from work maybe considered to be within the ’20-day allowance’.

If the ’20-day allowance’ is exceeded for any reason (including industrial action), then this should trigger a review of overall performance and achievement of curricular outcomes but does not mean an automatic extension to training. This review will be carried out by the Foundation School with oversight by the Postgraduate Dean, but, in line with Gold Guide, does not require an Annual Review of Competency Progression (ARCP).

This should be discussed with the Foundation School Director/Postgraduate Dean before any training is extended.

New updates

Annual Review of Competency Progression (ARCP) – UKFPO Webinar

The UKFPO welcome all Foundation doctors to the fifth webinar of the training year. The webinar will provide Foundation doctors with an overview of the annual process designed to review progress and assess readiness for the next step in training.

Reminder

Broadening Your Professional Capabilities

The annual conference for Doctors in Training in Kent, Surrey & Sussex Deanery is taking place on Tuesday 26th March 2024 from 09.20 – 16.30 at the Amex Stadium, Brighton.

We are very excited to invite you to the conference. The 2024 programme will focus on broadening professional capabilities relevant to all specialties.

The conference is open to all doctors in postgraduate training or fellowships in the Kent Surrey & Sussex Deanery – FY1 to ST7 from all healthcare settings (primary, secondary, community, public health), and KSS funded Fellows.

Sessions include:

• Digital literacy and upskilling
• Managing a Health Service: Leadership for Doctors
• How to approach a coroner
• Clinical Entrepreneurship
• How to involve patients in safety and quality improvement
• Innovative careers in academia and health sciences
• The future of education and training in Kent Surrey & Sussex: Q&A session with the Dean Prof Jo Szram

The agenda is on the website, and lunch and refreshments are included. There is free parking.

To book your place please see the KSS annual conference for Doctors in Training event on the KSS Deanery website.

Foundation School Representatives

Your Representatives are looking to capture KSS Foundation Programme feedback and ask if you could spare a couple of minutes to complete the form below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScLmrOdAm-BkkP6aGl6OMqOPhUnQu2gh3xAL34CCWLky_PQ4g/viewform

Important information

Provisionally registered doctors (foundation year one/F1) must not undertake formal locum posts or activities.

Provisionally registered doctors can undertake occasional ad hoc additional/overtime shifts on their current FY1 placement or previous FY1 placements that have formed part of their F1 rotation, where such work is undertaken only within the limits of their current competence and with the support of their educational supervisor. When undertaking such occasional ad hoc additional/overtime work, provisionally registered doctors should be clear with other members of their team about their current experience and level of competence.

SCRIPT – supporting safer prescribing practices

The SCRIPT programme is a collection of innovative eLearning portfolios designed to encourage safe and effective prescribing and medicines management among healthcare professionals.

SCRIPT will enhance your knowledge and confidence in prescribing correctly, improving patient safety, therapeutics and medicines management. You will receive a certificate for each module that you complete, which can be used in your online learning portfolio. SCRIPT is easy to use. You can access the modules at a time which suits you and revisit them even after completion. You can learn more about the SCRIPT eLearning programme and how to sign up by visiting Medicine & Surgery | Safe Prescriber

Study Leave

The KSSFS Admin Team have received several queries on how KSS Foundation Doctors can apply for Discretionary Study Leave. For clarity, please see below.

Discretionary Study Leave should be applied for prospectively and not retrospectively.  

1. Foundation Doctor (FD) seeks support from Educational Supervisor and trust (local) Foundation Training Programme Director (FTPD).
2. Local FTPD seeks approval from the area Foundation School Director (FSD)
3. Local FSD replies to trust TPD, including study leave team.
4. Local TPD can then reply to FD with outcome. 
5. If approved, on the guidance from the study leave team FD completes study leave form on the study leave portal. 

We are not able to reply to direct emails about Study Leave but if you have any questions, please do contact the school at: england.kssfoundationenquiries.se@nhs.net.

KSS Contact details have changed

Following the merger of HEE and NHS England, our contact email addresses have changed. Please see new emails below (emails sent previously to former email address will automatically be forwarded on):

For Foundation Year 1 queries please email england.kssfoundationyear1.se@nhs.net

For Foundation Year 2 queries please email england.kssfoundationyear2.se@nhs.net

For any other queries please email england.kssfoundationenquiries.se@nhs.net

Team Assessment of Behaviour (TAB)

The recommended dates for TAB are detailed below but these dates are not mandatory. Additional information on the TAB process can be found on the Horus Website.

PSA Sittings 2023/2024

Please note the dates for all PSA sittings:

All F1 doctors who have not yet passed the PSA assessment will automatically be registered for the next sitting in March.

Reminders and Guidance

Useful Websites and Contacts

• KSS Website (home page) https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/ 
• KSS Foundation webpage https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/kss-foundation/

• KSS Bulletin https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/kss-foundation/kss-bulletin/
• Careers, Professional Support & Wellbeing Service https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/kss-foundation/current-doctors-in-training/careers-and-wellbeing-support/
• Forms, documents and useful links https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/kss-foundation/useful-links-and-documents/
• Foundation programme curriculum & foundation programme rough guide https://foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/curriculum/
• KSS Foundation Team https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/kss-foundation/meet-the-team/ 
• KSS Foundation reps https://kss.hee.nhs.uk/kss-foundation/current-doctors-in-training/trainee-representatives/

Courses and events