Swindon is set in the rolling hills of the Cotswolds to the North and West, the Upper Thames valley to the East, and the Marlborough Downs to the South. Its surrounding countryside is dotted with picturesque walks, pretty villages and enticing rural pubs. Swindon is a thriving town whose economy is built on engineering, light industry and services. There are excellent local schools, sporting and golfing facilities, and there is a thriving local theatre and two large cinema complexes. Other cultural opportunities abound in London, Bristol, Oxford and Bath, all of which are within one hour’s travelling time.
The Great Western Hospital opened on 3 December 2002, became a Foundation Trust in December 2008, has a turnover of £320 million and employs 5,000 staff across acute and community settings. There are 480 inpatient beds with an on-site Intermediate Care Unit. The Trust catchment population is approximately 340,000. The population of the Borough of Swindon is around 220,000 and is rapidly growing and is projected to continue to do so at about 2% per annum.
Services provided on site include; general medicine, respiratory medicine, oncology, cardiology and cardiac catheterisation and angioplasty, rheumatology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, medicine for the elderly, dermatology, clinical haematology, paediatrics, genitourinary medicine, renal dialysis, general surgery, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, ENT, oral surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology. There are comprehensive diagnostics including MRI/CT and digital imaging.
ED Medical Staffing
Consultants – 13 (5 x LTFT)
Middle grade - 10 (4 x Specialist Registrars, 6x Senior Clinical Fellows and Specialty Doctors)
Junior staff – 21 (F2, ACCS and GPVTS, clinical teaching fellows & clinical fellows and one F1)
Workload
The Emergency Department (ED) is in a busy District General Hospital that sees approximately 85,000 patients/year and deals with a wide variety of presentations from major trauma to minor injuries. There is a separate Paediatric ED which accounts for ~ 25% of the attendances. It is collocated with an urgent care centre.
The dept is a Trauma Unit which deals with approx. 160 trauma calls per year. There is a Trauma team led by the ED senior and we are part of both Severn (Southmead Hospital) & Thames Valley (John Radcliffe, Oxford) Trauma Networks
The department will benefit from the trust winning a recent bid for 30 million pound of government investment into ‘rightsizing’ the Emergency Department and creation of an Integrated Front Door. In addition, there are Emergency Nurse Practitioners, a ‘Front Door’ Team (Therapists to facilitate early discharge), Mental Health Liaison and Alcohol liaison nurses based within the Department.
The Emergency Department provides an excellent opportunity for learning Emergency Medicine. The dept. has a wide range of presentations from major trauma to minor injuries (both adult and paediatric). There has been a shift towards an increasing majors workload over the past few years especially ill medical patients & elderly presentations.
We also have medical students from Bristol & Oxford attached to the department at various times of the year.
Education
Every trainee is allocated an Educational Supervisor to facilitate the learning environment & opportunities
There is a weekly consultant lead teaching programme for juniors (F1/F2/GPVTS) on Thursday afternoons and for Registrars on Wednesday afternoons
The department is involved in Severn Deanery Regional Training for Registrars (ST4+) and ACCS trainees and regularly host training days in our Academy
There are regular 1:1 sessions with consultants for WBA and developing doctor’s portfolios. There are regular multidisciplinary in-situ simulation sessions. There are also links with other local blue light organisations for larger multiagency simulation events. Handover teaching occurs alongside handover at 4pm with a ‘quick topic’ review.
There is a registrar’s room within the ED with access to computers to facilitate educational opportunities and is large enough to accommodate the departmental teaching.
Education also occurs on the shop floor with every interaction an opportunity. Education is a priority of the consultant body and the ED is a great environment in which to learn.