The West Suffolk Hospital is a vibrant, friendly and accessible hospital set in a 19-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 area of approximately 600 square miles. It is easily accessible by road via the A14 and is approximately 30-40 minutes from Cambridge. Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk is a unique and dazzling historic gem. An important market town with a richly fascinating heritage, the striking combination of medieval architecture, elegant Georgian squares and glorious Cathedral and Abbey gardens provide a distinctive visual charm.

Trauma and Orthopaedics  Information

We are a cohesive and proactive group of 12 consultants and one associate specialist covering the usual sub-specialities. There are 7 Lower limb arthroplasty surgeons, 3 foot and ankle and 3 upper limb. Spines are covered by Ipswich.

Whilst at the West Suffolk there is lots of opportunity to progress both clinically and academically. As a group we will support and prepare you for the FRCS and your life in orthopaedics.

There are 9 registrars, 5 of whom are regional trainees. The others are on rotation from Sri Lanka, Belgium and Egypt. Registrars tend to be year 1-4 and rotate through at least 2 consultants, one every 6 months. Some Consultants are linked so the registrar works for 2 at the same time.

On calls are covered by one of 10 consultants who work from Monday 8am –Thursday  5pm or Thursday 5pm – Monday 8am. When on call the consultant has no elective duties. The registrars work a 24 hours on-call with the next day off rota and an on-call room is provided. There are foundation doctors both on the wards and covering the on-calls.

Working with us there is also a Consultant orthogeriatrician, 6 nurse practitioners and 2 trauma nurse practitioners. They all play a vital role in the running of the department and are highly qualified and regarded.

The timetable for the whole department is kept on medirota and is available on any computer or on your phone as an app. You will be given access to this once you arrive but guest access can be given, if required, once you know you are allocated to rotate here. Registrars cross cover clinics and theatre for their colleagues. The usual 6 weeks’ notice is required for leave unless in exceptional circumstances.

Your educational supervisor here is Miss Lora Young ( lora.young@wsh.nhs.uk)

Rota/ medirota co-ordinator is Bev London (bev.london@wsh.nhs.uk)

Human resources are available on 01284 713528

 

West Suffolk Hospital Orthopaedic Department

• 430 beds
• Population of around 275,000
• The West Suffolk is a district general hospital situated in Bury St Edmunds.

We are:

• 13 consultants and one associate specialist
• 8 Lower limb arthroplasty
• 3 foot and ankle
• 3 upper limb surgeons.
• Spines are covered by Ipswich.

Whilst at the West Suffolk Hospital there are lots of opportunity to progress both clinically and academically.  You will be supported and given a mix of opportunities in theatres and clinics. As a group, we will support and prepare you for the FRCS and your life in orthopaedics.

Key Contacts

Address: Hardwick lane, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 2QZ.        Tel: 01284 713000

 Educational Supervisor: Miss Lora Young

Rota Co-ordinator: is Mr Konrad Wronka

Rota secretaries- Sheenagh Bugg sheenagh.bugg@wsh.nhs.uk//Bev London Bev.London@wsh.nhs.uk

Consultants and pairings

Rota

• 9 registrars
• 5 regional trainees
• 3 trainees on Fellowship (Belgium/ Sri Lanka)

2x consultant pairings as clinical supervisors per 6month block.

On calls

Consultants on call blocks Monday 8am-Tursday 5pm and Thursday 5pm- Monday 8am. During on call, elective operations for that consultant surgeon are cancelled  but clinics will continue. Registrars work 24 hours on-call with on call accommodation provided and compensatory rest day the following day. There will be cross covering of clinics to account for leave.

The team

• Foundation/ GP trainees on 4/12 rotations wards & on call
• consultant orthogeriatrician
• 2 trauma nurse practioners
• 1 advance care practioner
• surgical nurse practioners
• fracture clinic physiotherapists
• Plaster team
• Children nurses
• Fracture clinic nurses.    … And many, many more

IT

Rota on Medirota (app) – records whole department rota.

Bleeps through Medicbleep (app)

Electronic patient notes (E-care)

 

Nurse Specialists

7 nurse specialists help in both clinics and theatres. They will be support in clinic and theatres.

• Donna Taylor – Upper limb
• Sue Lafflin – Arthroplasty (Mr Schenk and Mr Nicolai)
• Sara Davey – Hip (Mr Parsons, Mr Shakokani and Mr Al-Hadithi)
• Sarah Reader – Hip and Knee (Mr Dunn and Mr Shakokani)
• Gemma Salt – Foot and ankle (Mr Vaughn) Hip (Mr Atrey)
• David Higgins – Foot and ankle

 

Leave

Annual leave can generally be taken when suits the individual. It is however important to ensure not too many SPR’s are off at any one time. (Usually 2 but exceptions can be made if it is possible to cover all clinical work).

Leave should be booked through contacting Bev London or Sheenagh Bugg. It is recommended you email both and try to catch them in person (Ortho Offices).  As the Medirota is planned 6 weeks in advance it is necessary to give 6weeks and ensure commitments are covered.

 

Clinic

During COVID-19 Clinics are currently arranged as Super clinics per subspeciality of the same day each week. These will be a mix of elective planned follow up triage clinics and fracture clinics.

The previous system was based upon 2 clinics per session (morning/afternoon) to include a mix of elective and orthopaedic patients specifically for that consultant. These clinics will always be run by 2- either consultant and registrar or two registrars depending on rota commitments and leave.  You will need to cross cover clinics to accommodate leave, post night oncall etc, which will be scheduled on Medirota.

 

Virtual Fracture Clinic

 This is a patient free clinic that runs every weekday starting at 7.30 and will consist of named consultant, secretary and fracture clinic team member. Both A&E and GPs refer to this clinic for patient referrals. 

 

On call at Night

 The on call’s are a 24hr non-resident shift. The registrar should remain on site till 10pm and then transfer the bleep to switchboard on medic rota.

As the on calls are non-resident, an on-call room is available off site as you will be expected to available to come into hospital if needed within 20 minutes.  The key to this room is on a lanyard and should be left in the registrar office.

There is one SHO overnight covering orthopaedics, general surgery and urology. The following day is given off as a rest day. The rota is a rolling rota and therefore is a fair as possible in terms of cover for weekends and bank holidays.

Prior to 10pm, the registrar is the first on call. After 10pm all GP and A&E referrals will go to the night surgical SHO. Any new patients admitted overnight will need to be seen by the night registrar prior to the trauma meeting.

 

Swaps

As there will be rest days off during the week following on call some regular commitments may be missed from time to time however due to the rolling nature of the rota the same things should not be missed all the time. You are welcome to swap these on calls to balance your commitments and to ensure the rota is updated please flag up any swaps to both Bev and Sheenagh and these can be accommodated on the rota.  Please email all swaps including the swapping registrar to Sheenagh and Bev. If you wish to take leave when you are, meant to be on call it is your responsibility to swap out of these on call shifts. If you need to take your leave for longer periods for example honey moons, long travel please do give as much notice as your case and discuss this request with rota team.

 

Trauma Meeting 

Trauma meetings take place at 8am every morning in the discussion room on the F3/F4 corridor. These should be attended by everyone whenever possible.

All patients seen during the on call, awaiting surgery, requiring results follow up or immediately post op or have any concerns that need to be shared with the juniors/ consultant team are included. These patients are added to this Trauma list via e-Care.

 

Trauma Booking

The SpR should have marked and consented the patient. They will need to book the patient for theatre by E-Care as a ‘TRA’ trauma case or ‘EMER’ emergency case. These should also be written down on a red clipboard for the relevant day, held by theatre teams in the theatre coffee room.

Each patient needs A VTE assessment and appropriate VTE prescribed along with a EPARS resuscitation decision and discussion. Please also call the family and include them in DNAR discussions.

 

Booking Paperwork 

• Yellow consent form
• Pink WHO checklist form

Both must be done along with EPARS and VTE for patient to be transferred to theatre for surgery.

Theatres 

 Theatre 3 – Emergency theatre shared with all surgical specialties and runs 24/7.

Theatre 7- Elective orthopaedics – Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm

Theatre 8 – Trauma theatre- Every weekday 1.30-5.30pm; Weekends varied schedule.

Theatre 9- Elective Orthopaedics Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm

Day surgery Unit (DSU) – elective/ planned trauma facility; varied sessions.

 

Wards

F1 ‘Rainbow ward’ – Paediatrics

F3- trauma and Spine

F4- Elective (need MRSA -ve swab)

F6/7- general surgical/ surgical outliers wards.

 

Comments 

WSH is a wonderful place for training and working. You have won the lottery with your placement! Enjoy your time here.

 

The accommodation office is responsible for all aspects of the day to day running of the staff accommodation blocks and the welfare of the residents.

Contact details

Accommodation Officer: Lizzie Johnson

Tel no. 01284 713491

Fax no. 01284 713875

E-mail: accommodation@wsh.nhs.uk

Opening Times

Monday - Thursday 8am - 4pm

Friday: 8am - 3pm

 

 

 

Addenbrooke’s Hospital

 

ACCOMMODATION

There are more than 500 rooms and flats available on campus for staff.

Doctors who wish to apply for accommodation need to contact the trust's medical staffing unit to obtain a security number for the online application form.

Sanctuary Housing manages this accommodation - Tel 01223 404800

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kings Lynn

Address:	Gayton Road Kings Lynn PE30 4ET
Phone:	01553 613613
Founded:	1980
Number of Beds:	515
Orthopaedic Tutor	Mr James Jeffery
Rota Co-Ordinator:	Faye Chapman (Mrs). Direct line 01553 613952
Website:	www.qehkl.nhs.uk
Trauma Coordinators:	Sally Boswell (Mrs) & Mandy Manning (Mrs)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Trauma & Orthopaedic Department in The Queen Elizabeth Hospital is a fantastic opportunity for specialist training, with dedicated orthopaedic consultants, friendly hospital staff, and great work ethics. 

Rota

Consultant rota

The Consultant on-call system is a weekly on-call system:

• 8 Consultants participate in a weekly on-call rota
• The on-call week runs 8-30am Mon – 8-30am Mon

Emergency admissions are admitted under the care of the Consultant on-call at the time the referral is accepted. Major trauma is directed to Addenbrookes Hospital through the Major Trauma Network. Spinal cord emergencies are directed to The Norfolk & Norwich Hospital. 

Registrar rota

• 1 in 8 on call rota in conjunction with staff grade & associate specialist colleagues
• Protected teaching time for Regional Training Programme
• On call during the weekdays are for a 24 hour period, with a free morning after on call (weekdays only) to complete any duties required for the care of patients admitted during the previous 24 hours
• Weekend on call is for 48 hours (ie: Sat & Sunday), although mutually agreed & arranged (it is very important to involve the Orthopaedic Co-ordinator) splitting of Sat & Sun periods is allowed.
• On call is graded as ‘non-resident’. It is relatively unusual to be busy for any prolonged period at night & nigh time operating is the exception, rather than the rule as major trauma is usually diverted straight to Addenbrookes by the paramedic teams. 

Consultants

 

Upper limb	Miss Lucy Dennell & Mr Anil Chakrabarti
Hands	Mr Sunil Nair
Revision arthroplasty (Hips)	Mr James Jeffery & Mr Alan Norrish
Knee Surgery (including revision arthroplasty & soft tissue reconstruction)	Mr Siva Subramanian
Foot & Ankle Surgery	Mr Chandra Pasapula
Primary Lower Limb Arthroplasty	Mr Shantanu Mandal & Mr Mamoun Gadir
Spine	Mr Mamoun Gadir Mr Andrew Cook (N&N Cons; @ QEH alternate Mondays) Mr Nick Steele (N&N Cons; @ QEH alternate Mondays)
Paediatrics	Mr Rajiv Merchant (N&N Cons; @ QEH every Wednesday)

Middle Grade Staff

• 3 ST trainees from The East Anglia Training Rotation
• 4 Staff Grade Surgeons (5^th appointment pending)
• 1 Associate Specialist

 

Clinics

Elective clinics and fracture clinics are all held in the dedicated Orthopaedic Clinic department on the ground floor of the hospital near to the x-ray department. You should expect to have equal time allocated to fracture and elective clinics.

 

Theatres

•      Trauma theatre is managed by the on-call Consultant for the week. Mondays & Saturdays are all day trauma lists. Tues, Wed, Thurs & Fridays are half day afternoon lists. There is no dedicated trauma list on Sundays. Case are discussed & scheduled at the 8-30am trauma meeting.

•      Elective lists run all day Mon – Friday in main theatres. Allocation of theatre lists is made by the Orthopaedic co-ordinator usually 2-3 weeks ahead. In general ST’s should be mostly allocated to the lists working with the Consultant to whom they are attached. It is advisable to liase with the Orthopaedic co-ordinator in advance to arrange optimum individual list allocations.

 

Teaching

• The morning trauma meeting serves as an excellent teaching opportunity. Juniors of all grades gain confidence by presenting and discussing their management plans in this forum.
• Occasional journal clubs are scheduled (Mr Norrish has recently organised these with company sponsorship and a trip to a local restaurant afterwards). Historically it has proven difficult to coordinate teaching timetables with 3 Registrars as leave & timetabling conflicts have proven to be problematic.
• UEA & Addenbrookes Medical Students have attachments throughout the year in the Orthopaedic Department. Arranging teaching sessions for Med Students is wholeheartedly encouraged & well received. The Med Student teaching timetables are co-ordinated by Rob Golsby & Helen Bensley, who are based in the Undergraduate Department of the hospital, near the entrance to theatre changing rooms.

 

Audit & Research

Mr Chandra Pasapula is the lead for audit projects. Mr Pasapula has an excellent track record of publications over the last decade. He encourages Registrar involvement in his projects, many of which have had an anatomical bias.

During the 12 month attachment at The QEH each Registrar should aim to complete and present a project which they have lead. The best forums are CTOC – Cambridge Trainee Orthopaedic Club & EAOC – East Anglia Orthopaedic Club Meetings, usually held in March & November (Covid permitting). All Consultants should be able to suggest projects, but it is expected that the trainee demonstrates initiative to conduct & complete such audit/ research projects.

 

Consultant Supervisors

Mr James Jeffery is the Educational Supervisor/ Orthopaedic Tutor at

QEH.

 Please arrange a meeting at the beginning and end of each placement to complete a learning agreement. Ensure that the sign off is completed before your ARCP in July.

 

Registrar allocation is Team Based. The pairings are:

Mr Jeffery & Mr Nair

Mr Subramanian & Mr Pasapula

Miss Dennell & Mr Gadir

Either Consultant of each pair can act as a Clinical Supervisor, this will be decided at the induction meeting. The new MCR (Multiple Consultant Report) in fact means that all Consultants whom you have exposure too will be involved in preparing a report on your progress.

 

There is plenty of scope outside these pairings to attend lists with all other Consultants & this is encouraged, especially during the times when an allocated Consultant may be on leave.

 Please arrange initial, mid-point, and end-of-placement meetings with your Clinical Supervisor.

 

• You should achieve or be on track to achieve certain targets (or waypoints) to improve your chance of a successful outcome at your next ARCP. Further details are on the JCST website:

www.jcst.org/quality-assurance/certification-guidelines

• You should also keep your ISCP portfolio up-to-date, including uploading a current CV immediately prior to your ARCP.