Core Training at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) is a health and social care trust that provides a wide range of clinical services across Cambridgeshire. This includes mental health care at primary, secondary and tertiary levels as well as an increasing number of community services in innovative integrated systems.  Specialist mental health services include (amongst many others) an eating disorder in-patient unit, forensic services and an adult ADHD clinic. The Trust works closely with acute hospitals in the area – the world-renowned Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge, as well as Hinchingbrooke and Peterborough hospitals in the north of the county.

Our core psychiatry training scheme has approximately 24 trainees in a 3 year rotation of 6 months posts. Trainees will typically begin by working in their CT1 year in our adult in-patient units (Fulbourn hospital, Cambridge, or the Cavell Centre in Peterborough) and in older people’s mental health services. The second year of training includes experience of Child and Adolescent mental health, or working with the Learning Disability teams as well as further specialist posts that continue into the CT3 year such as forensic, eating disorders, early intervention, or liaison psychiatry (always a popular option). We also have several Academic Clinical Fellowship trainees in combined academic and clinical training.

Trainees are given the opportunity to express a preference when rotating to new posts but should expect to spend time in any part of the county in order to experience the variety in sociocultural and educational opportunities the county has to offer.  The MRCPsych course is held in Cambridge across 2 semesters to prepare core trainees for the Royal College exams, with excellent feedback from our trainees.

 Many of our clinical supervisors have strong links  with the University of Cambridge, with research  that includes work on imaging studies,  immunology, ADHD, biomarkers for depression  and clozapine.

 Cambridgeshire is an ideal place to live and work,  with great local facilities, easy access to London  and a family-friendly high standard of living.

Our core training scheme will demonstrate why psychiatry is such a uniquely rewarding and challenging medical specialty, and support your ongoing specialist training.

For further information, please contact Dr Angus Brown, Core Programme Director.