About West Suffolk Hospital
Built in 1974, West Suffolk is a vibrant, friendly and accessible district general hospital set in a nineteen-hectare parkland site on the edge of Bury St Edmunds.
It has around 430 beds open at any one time and serves a population of around 275,000 within an area of approximately 600 square miles. It achieved Foundation Trust status in December 2011.
A popular place for trainees, the hospital operates a 24-hour accident and emergency department as well as a wide range of specialist hospital services, including a Day Surgery Unit and there is a St. Nicholas Hospice situated within the grounds.
Until August 2021, GP Trainees at Bury St Edmunds spent 18 months in hospital placements. August 2021 sees us making some exciting changes to GP training, including introducing and expanding new 'Innovative' community posts. Our aim is for all trainees to be spending 1 year in hospital posts and 2 years in GP/the community. Our hospital consultants are skilled teachers (several of whom also work in Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge and/or Cambridge University). They recognise the importance of trainees who learn skills in each department which are relevant to General Practice and not just the department they are currently training in. We work hard to make sure our hospital placements provide skills and experience that trainees can apply to a lifetime career in General Practice.
Education Centre
Opened in 2013, the Drummond Education Centre is located at the rear of the hospital, and has two lecture theatres, meeting rooms and specially equipped practical and clinical skills training rooms. It also houses the West Suffolk Foundation Trust library, which offers a wide range of resources, books, journals and electronic information and also an excellent clinical skills unit, which provides simulator sessions for our GP trainees.
The Cambridge Graduate School
West Suffolk Hospital is home to the Graduate Medical School of the University of Cambridge. A number of the practices involved in teaching students on this course are also training practices for general practice.