Having finalised changes to training posts we are now detailing what these posts should offer. While the main Progress+ changes to the structure of the programme are widely discussed, there are additional equally important capabilities for the new Core training programme, which are less well known, but well defined. These include the need for core trainees to acquire ‘Core curricular capabilities in General Paediatrics’ and ‘Neonatology,’ but also in ‘Integrated (Primary/Secondary) Care, Public Health, Community, Child Health’ and ‘Child and Adolescent Mental Health’.
To support the development of these capabilities, our level 2 community posts are moving into Core training and will be known as Integrated Care posts. Our vision is to develop posts that give a better range of exposure to specialities relevant to paediatrics and to encourage a wider system approach when looking after children. We are talking to trusts, general practice, public health, CAHMS, and those who are already developing this approach, to identify additional training opportunities and to seek out better ways of working together that enable quality improvement.
Posts will vary depending on the local offer and will continue to develop over time but will contain at least some of these training elements:
- Work in a community setting to ensure every trainee acquires relevant community experiences including neuro-disability clinics, community clinics, adoption panels, and safeguarding
- Work closely with a GP surgery, giving a better insight into the difficulties of assessing children in a primary care setting and working to improve referral pathways from primary care into paediatrics
- Opportunity to get involved in existing paediatric outreach services to get a better understanding of the local offer and to contribute to developing services; these may involve working with the children’s community team and the extensions of these like the ACE project in Bradford
- Support the local emergency department and contribute to local guidance and pathways to improve initial assessment of children and patient flow into paediatrics
- Get a better understanding of the work done in CAMHs and identify solutions to improve care of children with mental health problems admitted to the ward
- Establish links with public health so that paediatricians can access public health expertise and work on projects that will improve the care of all children in their region
- Facilitate access to paediatric working groups within the local ICS to give insight into and opportunity for system wide working
We recognise that within the current working climate our posts are aspirational, but we strongly believe that they are essential for training excellent future paediatricians that have the capabilities and vision to improve paediatric care, not only within their own department, but for the wider paediatric community within their area.