Trust Contact Details
Kent & Canterbury Hospital Ethelbert Road, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 3NG
Trust switchboard:
01227 766877
Trust website:
https://meded.ekhuft.nhs.uk/
Training Programme Directors
Dr Mohammed Ali (F1)
Dr Gunaratnam Gunathilagam (F2)
Director of Medical Education
Dr Prathibha Bandipalyam
Medical Education Manager
Susan Kennedy – susan.kennedy18@nhs.net
Foundation Programme Administrator
TBC
Facilities
Postgraduate Centre
The Education Centre at Kent and Canterbury Hospital is a large, pro-active centre, supported by a friendly, helpful team. Facilities and resources in the Centre include a lecture theatre which holds 87 people, a number of teaching rooms/classrooms, and video conferencing video, data and slide projection equipment and other educational aids which can be used in each room. There is also a large lounge area which includes an informal ICT (cybernet) area with 6 PCs.
New Medical School
Since 2020 Kent has had its own medical school in the shape of the Kent and Medway Medical School, which will combine the expertise of the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University. East Kent, along with other Trusts in Kent, have a major role to play in offering secondary care placements and teaching opportunities, with the aspiration that future medical students qualifying from the Kent and Medway Medical School will take up recruitment opportunities in East Kent.
For foundation doctors, this will open up opportunities to provide mentoring and shadowing to the medical students as well as “peer” teaching and more.
East Kent is also keen to support quality improvement opportunities and hosts an annual Quality Improvement Project competition for foundation doctors to showcase their projects.
Leadership opportunities e.g. year group representatives are also available.
Accommodation
Each flat has 2 bathrooms, a kitchen and 3 bedrooms, of which each has its own lounge. There is also a common room which has a TV and sofas. The accommodation is on-site at The Orchards residences and a two-minute walk to all areas of the hospital. Please contact ekhuft.accommodationkch@nhs.net
For all enquiries and information on rooms or go to our accommodation website –
https://accommodation.ekhuft.nhs.uk/Accommodation_Portal
All accommodation has built-in Wi-Fi.
Library facilities
Library and Knowledge Services staff work closely with all healthcare staff, foundation doctors, and students, providing their expertise to support individuals and teams with clinical decision making, research, and lifelong professional development.
There is an Education Library at KCH, WHH, and QEQM, featuring comprehensive book stock available for loan, PC access, study areas, as well as 24-hour access. Library staff are on hand to answer any questions you may have about finding research, books and articles, and to demonstrate the information resources that we offer to all staff. Remote services are also available, including evidence search requests, article sourcing, and a comprehensive collection of information resources such as UpToDate, ClinicalKey, and BMJ Best Practice, ensuring that the best knowledge and evidence is always at the fingertips of staff and learners.
Our Clinical Librarian teams work closely with clinicians and their departments, attending clinical meetings, medical decision meetings, educational ward rounds, as well as department journal clubs. 1-to-1 and team training sessions are also available in effective literature searching, evidence-based practice, critical appraisal, and understanding statistics.
We also provide support for research, appraisal, career planning and other academic and professional activities as well as assisting and advising with the preparation of content for publication.
To find out more about our services, including how to register as a Library Member, please visit our website: https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/gps/library-services/
IT facilities
There are 16 workstations that are available in the Education Centre 24 hours a day. Wi-Fi access is now available. A Key fob can be issued if you wish to have out-of-hours access. The Directorate of Medical Education is actively involved with innovative work, in which the contribution of foundation doctors has been instrumental.
Parking arrangements
Parking permits are available on application for all members of staff who park within the hospital grounds. This is currently deducted from your salary monthly-
Local Area
Social activities
Canterbury is a beautiful historic city, with the main attraction being Canterbury Cathedral. It has a large student and tourist population, with a huge variety of attractions, restaurants, pubs and indoor and outdoor activities to suit all tastes and interests including Whitefriars shopping area, cinemas, theatres, river tours, nightclubs, wildlife parks, sports facilities including Kent County Cricket ground at the back of the Hospital. For more information visit https://www.canterbury.co.uk/
There is plenty to do in and around Canterbury in the evenings. As a city with two universities.
Canterbury offers a lively night scene and a wealth of cultural activities and events. The Doctors’ Mess arranges regular nights out including quiz nights, meals and end of year ball. The beautiful coast of East Kent, with its sandy beaches, areas of outstanding scientific interest and beauty and wide range of water-based sports and activities is only 20-30 minutes away by car or by train/bus. Canterbury is surrounded by beautiful countryside and villages too. Visit https://www.visitkent.co.uk/ for more information.
Doctors’ Mess
This small comfortable room is based on the 2nd Floor, 1937 building. The mess has lots of couches, tea and coffee, pool table and whatever food the mess shop has to offer for that week (provided you have paid your subscription fee – £10 per month, deductible from your salary. Users are required to keep the mess tidy.
Transport links
There is a high-speed train with regular trains running every weekday, which makes travel between Kent and central London faster than ever. Travelling time from Canterbury West Station to St Pancras is 56 minutes. Coach and bus services are also available. Visit the hospital website for travel details to Kent & Canterbury Hospital – https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/kent-and-canterbury-hospital/
Local amenities/attractions
Canterbury offers you so much to see and do during your stay with a huge variety of attractions and indoor and outdoor activities to suit all tastes and interests (see social activities).
Foundation Specific
Induction/shadowing arrangements
All F1s are invited to attend an induction which includes shadowing of the current F1 whose job they will be taking over. There is also an active Social Induction Programme organized to further enhance their orientation.
Tasters
Tasters are available for F1s and F2s to do during their year at Canterbury. This is a good opportunity for doctors to try the specialty which is not within their rotations. Various specialty tasters can be arranged.
Simulation
East Kent runs its own simulation training days which are mandatory to F1 and F2 doctors at the Simulation Suite, William Harvey Hospital or Devon House in Margate, which includes the latest SimMan 3G training model.
https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/services/simulation-services/
Foundation Doctor Forums
The Education Centre holds Trust wide Foundation Faculty meetings and foundation doctors are encouraged to become their year group representatives for this and be integral members. Representatives are actively encouraged to be on the Local Academic Board too.
Educational and Clinical supervision
All foundation doctors are allocated an Educational Supervisor at the beginning of their year. The Educational Supervisor works closely with the foundation doctor and has regular meetings throughout the foundation year and is able to offer careers support and advice as needed. For the second and subsequent rotations, each doctor has a Clinical Supervisor for day-to-day supervision and educational meetings. All Educational and Clinical Supervisors are accredited or working towards it.
Teaching programme
In Foundation Year 1 (F1) at K&CH there are 8 posts, comprising of Vascular and Urology Surgery, Renal, Anaesthetics and Psychiatry. Geriatric Medicine will be based at QEQM hospital, Respiratory Medicine, Gastroenterology and Cardiology placements will be on the William Harvey Hospital site.
In Foundation Year 2 (F2), at K&CH there are 12 posts comprising of, General Practice, Urology, Vascular Surgery, Intensive Care, Renal, Haematology and Psychiatry. The Trust also nominate F1s and F2s each year for a Health Education England award scheme which offers merits in teaching, audit, portfolio and leadership. We are also able to nominate any candidate who we feel has made an outstanding contribution during the year.
Teaching for foundation doctors is currently held on Wednesdays from 1-2pm and Thursdays from 2.30-3.30pm. In addition, you are invited to many other additional teaching sessions including the weekly Grand Rounds, IMT teaching and Medical Half Days once a month.
Any additional information
MedStart is an initiative where foundation doctors can become involved with teaching and planning OSCE-style stations to local school students interested in a career in medicine.
The Medical Education Directorate host an annual Oscar-style Health Education Awards evening. We recognise that our transient population of medical students and training doctors do not always receive sufficient recognition for their contribution to the Trust during their placements/posts. An enjoyable evening in the Cathedral lodge in Canterbury provides us with the opportunity to celebrate professionalism, teaching excellence, and leadership with a range of awards and with an overall award for Foundation Doctor of the Year. Dr Prathibha, Director of Medical Education, has commented “Our foundation doctors contribute a great deal while they are with us, and we hope that East Kent has a real role to play in helping to shape them as the professional, competent and compassionate doctors of the future.” The evening is a lot of fun and the awards, both physical and in certificate form, are great additions to any portfolio/CV.
Trust Information
Overview of Trust
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) is one of the largest hospital trusts in the country, with more than 6,000 staff serving a population exceeding 700,000 and provides integrated patient care in East Kent with over 80 clinical specialties. Established on 1st April 1999, EKHUFT has three acute hospitals at Canterbury, Margate and Ashford, with smaller hospitals in Dover and Folkestone.
Accolades/achievements of the Trust
Kent & Canterbury (and East Kent as a whole) has a tradition of being a popular and friendly hospital (and Trust) for doctors in training.
Trust Values
- Caring – people feel cared for as individuals
- Safe – people feel safe, reassured and involved
- Respect – people feel teamwork, trust and mutual respect sit at the heart of everything we do
- Making a Difference – people feel confident we are making a difference.
The Trust’s strategic priorities are: patients, people, partnerships and provision EKHUFT have a national and international reputation for delivering high quality specialist care, particularly in urology, kidney disease, stroke and vascular services. It also values and pursues excellence in research and innovation and EKHUFT has been ranked first in Kent for clinical research studies.
Any additional information
- Employs over 8000 members of staff
- Has over 94,000 inpatients a year
- Over 727,000 outpatient appointments a year
- Over 200,000 A&E attendances
We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 695,000 people.
Our vision is ‘great healthcare from great people’. Everything we do is guided by our values: ‘People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference’.
We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called ‘We care’. It’s about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day-to-day. We’re looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.
