“If children make you smile, you enjoy talking to them, prefer making formulations instead of rushing into diagnoses, like psychological interventions, find gathering detailed information and spending longer time with your patients a plus, and need a better work-life balance, this specialty is for you.”

“Child psychiatry gives me the opportunity to make a difference in the young lives of my patients. This specialty is all about using a holistic approach.”

The East of England offers a wide range of posts in Child and Adolescent psychiatry for higher training in this specialty.

To minimize unnecessary traveling for trainees, but still ensuring an excellent training experience, the rotation is divided into hubs based around Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Luton and Dunstable, and Essex.  Trainees will usually work in more than one trust across their higher training which gives a broader perspective into the organisation and delivery of CAMH services.

We have a wide range of posts; list below displays some examples:

• Cambridge –core community CAMHS posts in Cambridge and Peterborough/Huntingdon area, neuro-developmental clinic posts, the Croft Child and Family Unit  (a residential or ‘in-patient’ centre near Cambridge for children with mental health conditions and their families, one the unique below 13 inpatient), The Darwin Centre (Tier 4 adolescent inpatient unit for above 13 and below 18s), crisis assessment and liaison, home treatment team and a wide range of special interests possibilities like forensic CAMHS, and substance misuse in CAMHS.
• HPFT – core community CAMHS posts, neuro-developmental clinics, Forest House (Tier 4 adolescent inpatient unit for above 13 and below 18s), crisis and liaison team, Special interest sessions: home treatment team, eating disorders, DBT.
• Luton/Bedford/Dunstable – core community CAMHS posts in Luton and Bedford. Upcoming posts: Evergreen unit (Tier 4 adolescent inpatient unit for above 13s and below 18s), neuro-developmental post, crisis, and assertive outreach team. Special interest sessions: neurodevelopmental clinics, DBT, CAMHS psychotherapy, family therapy clinic, eating disorders.
• Essex – post in inpatient unit St Aubyn centre (Tier 4 adolescent inpatient unit for above 13 and below 18s and PICU – psychiatric intensive care unit) and the Poplar Adolescent unit for above 13 and below 18s. Rotation in core community CAMHS. Special interest sessions: intellectual disability posts and eating disorders.

Posts: Trainees working full time will usually do 4 posts of 9 months. Trainees will be offered a wide range of posts. According to the new curriculum trainees are expected to rotate between inpatient, core CAMHS community and neurodevelopmental posts. 

The two remaining posts are determined by the interests and training needs of the trainee, but could include (for example) crisis, liaison, outreach, and home treatment team and where posts are available: eating disorders, learning disability, substance misuse and/or forensic services.

East of England strives to keep trainees in their assigned trust if training needs can be accommodated to avoid unnecessary disruption and anxiety around relocation.

Academic programme: The East of England are lucky to have a regional academic programme for child and adolescent psychiatry trainees. This is currently hybrid in nature but the hope is to move fully face to face. Face to face sessions take place at the Brookside Child and Family clinic in Trumpington, Cambridge and usually runs on Wednesdays from 10 to 3. There is usually a lunch break and comfort breaks throughout.

The teaching programme has been designed by trainees for trainees and sessions are mapped onto the Child and Adolescent psychiatry curriculum. Speakers range from various disciplines and we are privileged to have speakers that are known regionally and nationally as experts in their field.

Part of the programme includes a family therapy course run by systemic therapists based at the Croft inpatient unit. It is designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of trainees and encourage systemic working. There have also been opportunities to be train in ADI and ADOS assessments as part of the teaching programme.

The current academic trainee representative is Dr Arun Bhaskaran and he can be contacted via email (see below) if you require any further information.

The academic programme follows the school year and there are breaks during school holidays. During this time trainees are expected to attend their clinical placements. Attendance at the teaching programme is mandatory and is monitored.

Less than full time: East of England are very happy to accommodate less than full time training where possible (please see the Deanery pages for eligibility here).  Less than full time trainees will have differing length placement according to individual needs. 

Out of Programme experiences (OOPs): East of England is glad to support trainees who wish to take up these unique opportunities.

On calls: There is an expectation for all higher trainees in the East of England deanery to engage in out of hours on-calls. Trainees are expected to complete 55 out-of-hours on calls, enabling them to gain confidence and skills in emergency psychiatry, acute presentations and legal frameworks. 

Psychotherapy opportunities: The East of England deanery are committed to helping specialist trainees achieve their psychotherapy competencies as outlined by the Royal College of Psychiatrists Silver Guide. The regional CAMHS teaching programme offers regular evidence-based psychotherapy supervision and Balint groups. Local trusts also provide this and trainees are supported to attend them.

There are also different opportunities to take on psychotherapy cases under appropriate supervision in a range of modalities including, but not restricted to, DBT, CBT, psychodynamic psychotherapy, CAT and systemic therapy. The academic programme also runs a dedicated family therapy/systemic skills course.

Leadership: The East of England deanery recognises that higher trainees are future consultants and leaders in the NHS. They provide plenty of leadership opportunities both clinically and non-clinically and support trainees to enhance their knowledge and skills in leadership and management. There are a range of extended learning opportunities and courses funded by Health Education England North East and North Cumbria trainees can take part in including the:

• Next Steps Leadership and Management Fellows programme (previously known as LEAP)
• Mary Seacole
• Edward Jenner
• Rosalind Franklin
• BLEND leadership course as part of NHSE’s fellowship programmes

Mentorship: There are also opportunities for coaching and mentoring. New trainees are ‘buddied up’ with existing programme trainees and invited to reach out for these provisions.

Quality improvement and audit: East of England trusts are committed to quality improvement and all higher trainees are expected to engage in QI and audit activities throughout the duration of their programme. Local trusts have dedicated QI and audit teams which can support trainees with project ideas and implementation. Trainees are encouraged to discuss QI/audit with their clinical supervisors and incorporate this into their personal developmental plans and post objectives.

For further information please see below and please feel free to get in touch with the Programme Director (Anupam.bhardwaj@cpft.nhs.uk) - we'd love to hear from you.