Trust Contact Details

Conquest Hospital, The Ridge, St Leonard’s on Sea, East Sussex, TN37 7RD  

Eastbourne District General Hospital, Kings Drive, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 2UD  

Switchboard  
0300 13 14 500  

Medical HR esh-tr.medicalhr@nhs.net

Trust website:  
www.esht.nhs.uk   

Trust Foundation webpage  
www.esht.nhs.uk/medical-education/foundation   

Director of Medical Education   
Dr Neel Sharma (cross-site) neel.sharma1@nhs.net  

Deputy Head of Medical Education & Knowledge Library Services Ruth Seager (cross-site) ruth.seager1@nhs.net

Operational Management  
Luisa Tomasetti – Programme Leader Foundation (cross-site) luisa.tomasetti@nhs.net

Facilities

Postgraduate Centre

Learning resource education centres are available on both hospital sites along with many other training facilities including equipped skills laboratories. 

Accommodation

Accommodation is available on both sites. Rooms are fully furnished and each flat has a shared kitchen. Utensils are provided. Laundry services are available on both sites. For further information, please go to https://www.esht.nhs.uk/medical-education/trainee-support/hospital-accommodation/  

Conquest and Eastbourne hospitals have nurseries on each site.  

Social activities  

Social events are held throughout the year, such as the Welcome BBQ and various activities in the evenings including paddle boarding and doctor community walks as part of a dedicated Freshers’ week of activities during the FY1 Shadow Week. A Medical Careers Evening is held annually in October for Resident doctors who are looking to reinforce their decision-making on future career path.  The event enables the Resident doctors to have direct access to a wide range of senior clinical colleagues from different specialties. A virtual resource is also available.

A calendar of regular social events for all junior doctors and faculty are put together by our dedicated pastoral fellows as we recognise the need to have some ‘downtime’ together with the opportunity to network with colleagues, educational and clinical supervisors, their medical education team, medical HR and other support staff relevant to their training needs. The mess presidents organise a summer ball and winter celebrations amongst other informal events, such as curry nights and bowling. 

Both Conquest and Eastbourne hospitals have Doctors’ Mess facilities. There is a membership fee which enables access to the mess day and night and includes snacks and drinks, as well as discounts on social events during the year.   

For information relating to Medical Education events and promotions – please check out our website www.esht.nhs.uk/medical-education 

Library and IT facilities  

Both libraries accessible and have internet access 24/7. Wi-Fi is also available. https://www.esht.nhs.uk/about-the-trust/departments/knowledge-and-library-services/

Parking facilities

The hospital operates a parking scheme. Everyone who wishes to park on site at Conquest Hospital or Eastbourne DGH needs to display a permit. The scheme applies to all people who work and park their vehicle on those sites, including our staff and the staff of other employers. There will be an annual permit administration charge to cover the costs of running the scheme.

To apply for the parking scheme, please visit this link when you join us: https://permit.esht.nhs.uk
(the link will only work via devices connected to the ESHT network via the intranet)

Local Area

Transport links  

Our hospitals are around 60-70 miles south of London and 25-35 miles east of Brighton.

Hastings main rail station is approximately 3 miles from the Conquest Hospital. Buses run from the hospital to the town centre and station. Trains run regularly from Hastings to London Charing Cross & London Bridge (1.5 to 2hr journey time). There are also services to Brighton (1.5hr journey time). There is a link road (Coombe Valley Way) which has reduced traffic congestion and travel time between the two acute hospital sites. 

Eastbourne Rail Station is approximately 1.5 miles from the Eastbourne DGH and there is another station called Hampden Park approximately 1 mile walk (20-25 mins) from the hospital via the park. Buses are available between both stations and there is a bus service to Brighton and other surrounding towns. Trains run regularly from Eastbourne to London Victoria (1.5 to 2hr journey time) as well as to Brighton (1hr journey time).

Bus travel – www.stagecoachbus.com, www.buses.co.uk and www.traveline.org.uk  

Train travel – www.nationalrail.co.uk, www.southernrailway.com and www.southeasternrailway.co.uk  

Local amenities/attractions  

East Sussex is so much more than a great place to work – it is a fantastic place to live and visit.  Hastings is a famous, historical town and seaside resort situated on the south-east coast of Britain. The town has a castle built by William the Conqueror in the 11th Century, an attractive old town, fishing harbour and seafront. The west of Hastings (St Leonards) is modern and lively with a theatre, cinema, many restaurants, bars and clubs, as well as a shopping centre with many well-known shops. There are also many places of interest to visit in the town and plenty of events throughout the year, such as the Hastings Sea Food Festival, Jack in the Green and Pirate Day. More information can be found at: Things to Do in Hastings | Activities & Attractions

 

Eastbourne has many restaurants, pubs and clubs. Famous for its tennis and stunning scenery used in many films. Other picturesque spots include Beachy Head and Sovereign Harbour. There is 10 pin bowling alley, yachting, and surfing clubs, sports centres and theatres. A new shopping centre has been built with the addition of another state of the art cinema in the main town. More information can be found at: Visit Eastbourne | Official Tourism Website

Foundation Specific

Induction/Shadowing Arrangements

At the Eastbourne DGH and Conquest, we arrange a formal induction and shadow period for the new F1s. This helps foundation doctors in their first year to settle in and get used to their new clinical environments. We also provide the opportunity for international medical graduates (IMGs) to benefit from an extended additional shadowing period, prior to taking part in formal shadow/Induction at the Trust. 

 

Our trust website provides comprehensive and current Information on working for ESHT – https://www.esht.nhs.uk/working-for-us/.
Please also note our dedicated Medical Education website pages www.esht.nhs.uk/medical-education which hold specific information relating to our Foundation Programme and more details on the individual specialties you might be interested in, and the types of support you can expect to receive from us, such as careers advice and pastoral support.  

Tasters

These are supported via your respective foundation administrators and all foundation doctors are encouraged to take up the opportunity to participate in taster time in their specialty of interest. F1s can request a taster session during the final rotation of the year.  

Simulation and Human Factors

We have fully equipped clinical skills rooms, including Simulation suites in both education centres.  Our simulation programme is ever evolving to develop the programmes we run (including new virtual reality equipment) and our facilities with dedicated support from our excellent educational fellows and our SIM team colleagues.  Both sites run simulation training sessions (a requirement of the curriculum), which have been well received by the foundation doctors.  

Foundation doctor feedback    

We encourage Foundation doctors to provide feedback throughout the year both formally and informally. Foundation Resident representatives for each year (F1 and F2) are nominated and they attend the Foundation Local Faculty Group (LFG) Meeting, representative of their year group. The Foundation Training Programme Leads and Foundation Leaders hold individual meetings with the Foundation doctors as required throughout the year. Reps receive updates on actions taken after the LFGs at “You Said, We Did” meetings which they can then feedback to their cohorts. This trainee feedback is consistently taken into account when we are looking to make improvements to our Foundation Programme. Our aim is to provide a supportive environment where Resident doctors can gain experience through facilitation and encouragement. Our respective sited medical education team, encourage an “open door” policy where foundation doctors are welcome to come and discuss anything relating to their training and post.

Educational and clinical supervision

We realise that it can be hard to make the transfer from medical student to doctor and we endeavour to support our F1s as much as possible with this transition. We have a foundation support process in place to ensure that help is provided as soon as it is needed. As an F1/F2 you will be supported during your 4-month rotation in your specialty of choice, learning key skills that can then be utilised for the rest of your career. Support will be provided by your dedicated educational supervisor, clinical supervisors, your programme lead as well as the larger specialty team. All of whom will give you regular constructive feedback on your progress and what you can do to improve. This will better enable you to deliver core competences from the Foundation curriculum. Foundation doctor progress is reviewed via the Horus e-portfolio, requiring the trainee to complete set modules by way of:  

• Observation  
• Direct supervision  
• Independent practice  
• Attendance at relevant training courses and events 

The onus is on reflective practice.  

Core teaching programme 

The programme includes F1 and F2 formal weekly teaching sessions, monthly afternoon workshops, directed and self-directed personal learning, structured appraisal and assessments. The teaching programme covers all aspects of the Foundation Curriculum. Foundation doctors are encouraged to participate in all learning opportunities both in the Education Centres and in clinical settings, as well as virtually.  

Enhance Programme/Foundation Priority Programme

Enhance enable programme is available to all F1s and F2s.  Enhance Explore (or the Foundation Priority Programme) has been aligned to the Foundation Priority Programme (FFP) with 6 x FFP 2 year programme available at ESHT.  We have a dedicated Enhance Lead to support this programme, Dr Oana Anton, who is also our FY2 cross-site FTPD.

Additional information

During the F1 year we arrange for you to attend ILS and Simulation Training. In F2 we arrange for you to attend Simulation Training and ALS is available for you to book on to. Study leave for F2s is available and details will be provided on commencement. 

Currently there are 60 FY1 rotations. Each rotation comprises 3 x 4-month posts. FY1 doctors may do night shifts and are rostered for weekends and long days/evening shifts in the acute specialties. FY1 rotations include General Medicine, Urology, Diabetes, Respiratory, Rheumatology, Cardiology, T&O, General Surgery, Gastroenterology, ITU, ENT, Paediatrics, Palliative Care and Psychiatry. Some posts also include time in the Acute Assessment Unit. All F1s are required to work nights in surgery. F1s (dependent on their rota and subject to change for each new intake) can be on call. 

At present, there are 60 F2 rotations which include General Medicine, ENT, Palliative Care, Public Health, GP, Paediatrics, Urology, Psychiatry, Cardiology, Elderly Medicine, Respiratory, Diabetes and Emergency Medicine. 

This is dependent on each rota and is subject to change for each new intake. Urology and ENT FY2 Doctors work a shift pattern of four weeks day shifts and one week of night shifts. A standard day shift is 0800-1700. At weekends they will be rostered into the emergency department or the wards. FY1 Doctors do not work night shifts in urology or ENT.

In F2 community placements, there is an option to do a day or half day attachment in the following: Emergency Medicine and AAU. Or a block attachment in ITU (this is optional and flexible). For F1 this is only possible for Psychiatry placements to have an attachment with AMU. This is not available to those in Palliative care.

It is essential that Resident doctors have a car for F2 placements in Public Health (Lewes), Palliative Care, Psychiatry and some General Practice surgeries, which range from urban to rural or more coastal areas. 

Paediatric community placements are based at Bexhill and occasional cross-site travel is required. 

T&O, Paediatrics and all of our Surgery rotations are based at the Conquest Site. 

We also host the Basic Surgical Skills (BSS) course twice a year, which is strongly recommended for all foundation doctors, who have strong inclinations towards surgical specialties. ESHT has been nominated as one of the best providers of the BSS course in the Southeast Region.  

Trust Information

Accolades/achievements of the Trust  

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust has been awarded a citation for exceptional work in the remediation of Foundation doctors in difficulty. We continue to consistently collaborate with our resident doctors to identify the best ways to support their experience  at East Sussex Healthcare Trust and there are a number of pastoral networks we encourage our foundation doctors to contribute to; including the ‘Take 5’ doctor peer support group (which is held over lunch time with pizza).

The Medical Education team hosts an annual awards event to formally acknowledge the achievement of all the foundation doctors who have done exceptionally well in the areas of audit, eportfolio, teaching and leadership and support of pastoral developments and are awarded merit certificates by the Foundation School. This event not only recognises the foundation doctors but also the contribution of their supervisors and colleagues and to thank both groups for their hard work throughout the year.  

Pastoral fellows 

In addition to support foundation doctors will receive from the administrative team within the Medical Education team; they will also benefit from the support from our two Associate Medical Education Directors who oversee and support the training of foundation doctors. Also, pastoral fellows are available at each site.  Their remit is to pre-empt and provide early intervention for any doctor, who may be struggling with anything affecting their health and wellbeing.