The School of Paediatrics in the East of England has a strong commitment to helping all doctors reach their full potential, and supporting those with child-caring or other responsibilities or health problems to continue training. Training Less Than Full Time (LTFT) in Paediatrics is very popular and currently 1/3 of our trainees in East of England are LTFT.
For comprehensive and up-to-date information on LTFT training, including eligibility criteria and the approval process, please visit the page:
https://heeoe.hee.nhs.uk/faculty-educators/less-full-time-training
Your placement level TPD is the first point of contact when discussing your personal circumstances and training needs, as well as agreeing the percentage of LTFT work and your start date. For requests due to unprecedented circumstances, your Trust’s college tutor might also need to be part of the request process. We have a dedicated TPD for LTFT trainees, who works closely with college tutors and other TPDs to facilitate placements, sign off relevant paperwork and troubleshoot any issues. The LTFT trainee reps are also able to offer advice and guidance from a peer level.
Return to training after a break (research, parental leave, OOP) can be a challenging experience. The East of England Deanery offers a comprehensive scheme to support those doctors returning to training. Paediatrics is proud to have many trainees who have benefitted from the scheme and found it very helpful.
You can find comprehensive information on the scheme at this link:
https://heeoe.hee.nhs.uk/psw/supported-return-training
We believe that supporting each other is key to improving trainees’ experiences through challenging times. The School of Paediatrics is recognised for providing pastoral care and individualised support for trainees
We offer dedicated training days twice a year to trainees returning to work in Paediatrics (EPRETT). These include high fidelity simulation scenarios as well as practical workshops on wellbeing, self care, human factors and childcare. During the day there will be opportunities to share practical tips and network with other trainees in similar circumstances.
We are also planning to run regular open groups for Paediatric trainees where they might be able to bring their children. These are particularly dedicated to trainees who wish to keep in touch with colleagues during their parental leave, return to work phase or whilst they are training LTFT.
Dr Anshoo Dhelaria is the TPD for LTFT training. Her role includes providing advice and guidance to trainees wishing to go LTFT and signing off LTFT forms once the placement is confirmed by the respective TPD. She is also in charge of addressing any LTFT issues, working closely with other TPDs and college tutors. Dr Dhelaria’s role also includes supporting return to training (RTT) and signposting accordingly.
Nithya Reddy and Francesca Seregni are the trainee Reps for the LTFT programme and work closely with Dr Dhelaria. They are Paediatric registrars training LTFT and have first-hand experience of the return to work scheme. They are able to advice and guidance to trainees from a peer level. They also advocate for LTFT and SuppoRTT issues at regional level. They can be contacted via email on: nithya.reddy@nhs.net and francesca.seregni@nhs.net