Hospital and Community Care, Policies and Procedures

This page has policies for Hospital and Community Care specialties (including Public Health). Please follow the following links for other areas:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Academic Training

Guidelines for Monitoring Academic Training and Progress

Acceleration of Training

North West Hospital and Community Care Acceleration of CCT/Core End Date Principles

Individual School Acceleration Guidance: added 17 September 2026

School of Medicine
School of Ophthalmology
School of Paediatrics
School of Psychiatry
School of Radiology
School of Surgery
For all other specialties, please contact your specialty school

Deferring the Start of Training

The Gold Guide States:

3.38 The start of training for foundation, core and specialty training may normally only be deferred on statutory grounds (e.g. maternity/paternity/adoption leave, ill health). For the Defence Medical Academy only, training may also be deferred to meet Defence Medical Services operational requirements. Where the candidate has not met the criteria for appointment and the deferral is not for statutory reasons, then the offer will normally be withdrawn.

Gold Guide 11th Edition

To request a deferment for any reason, please contact the relevant school team for the specialty you will be starting in, with as much notice as possible.

Dignity Concerns

Please see 'Raising Dignity Concerns' page

Domestic Abuse

Refuge – specialist domestic abuse organisation

Dress Codes

National Dress Code for Doctors and Dentists in Training

Early Certification/CCT

Please see 'Acceleration of Training'

Expense Claims – Excess travel

See 'Removals and Excess Travel'

Expense Claims – Relocation

See 'Removals and Excess Travel'

Expense Claims – Study leave

See 'Study Leave' pages

Fellowship and Secondment Process Guidance

Form R

Please see 'Form R' page

Foundation Programme

Please see the 'Foundation Policies and Processes' page

Freedom of Information

Please see 'Subject Access Requests'

Gaining Experience outside your allocated North West Deanery placement

In some cases, your Training Programme Director (TPD) may agree that you need to work at another trust to gain a specific curriculum requirement or experience.

This could be either within or outside the North West Deanery.

Scenario 1: Placement within the North West Deanery

If the placement is at another training site within the North West:

This is covered by the Lead Employer contract
No additional employment documentation is required

You should:

Agree the placement details with your TPD
Make sure both your main host trust and the placement site are aware of:

Location/work area
Dates
Scope of the placement

Scenario 2: Placement outside the North West Deanery (e.g. Sheffield)

If the placement is outside the North West:

This is not covered by the Lead Employer contract
The external organisation will usually require an honorary contract

You will need to:

Obtain confirmation from your TPD that the placement is required to meet your curriculum (including purpose and dates)
Send this confirmation to rotations.contractchanges@merseywestlancs.nhs.uk
Ensure your main host trust is aware of the arrangement

The Lead Employer will:

Share your pre-employment checks with the external organisation
Support them in arranging your honorary contract

GMC Investigations

Guidance for Resident Doctors Notified of a GMC Investigation

Gold Guide for Resident Doctors

Gold Guide - 11th Edition - Conference Of Postgraduate Medical Deans

Gold Guide for Dentists

Dental Gold Guide 2023 - Committee of Postgraduate Dental Deans and Directors

Indemnity cover – non trust settings

Effective for new trainees from 4th August 2021 and for existing trainees from 5th August 2021.

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (Lead Employer) Medical Indemnity

Independent Sector Working

Guidance for Placement of Doctors in Training in the Independent Sector

Inter-Deanery Transfers (IDT)

Please see 'Inter-Deanery Transfer' pages

Intra-Region Transfer (Transferring within NHS England – North West)

If you wish to transfer programmes within your specialty please contact your School team for advice on your School's Intra-Region transfer request process. If you want to transfer to another Deanery please refer to the IDT section above.

Junior Doctor's Contract/Terms and Conditions of Service

Please see 'Terms and Conditions'

Less Than Full Time Training (LTFT)

Please see 'Less Than Full Time' pages

Medical Training Initiative (MTI)

Please see 'Medical Training Initiative' pages

Non-ARCP Appeals

See 'Complaints and Non-ARCP Appeals'

Out of Programme (OOP)

Please see 'Out of Programme' pages

Pastoral Support

Guidance on Providing Pastoral Support to Trainee Involved in Serious Incident

Period of Grace (POG)

NHS England – North West's Period of Grace Guidance Notes

A link to the POG intent form will be sent to resident doctors 6-7 months prior to their Certification date. Please see the Period of Grace (POG) page for more information.