The sessions starts officially at 9am sharp and finishes at 4pm. If you arrive after 9:15am then you will be marked in as late. Arriving late can be upsetting and seen as rude, both to outside speakers and the rest of the group, who have made the effort to be there on time. It is also disruptive to the education session. We will also be noting when trainees leave early.

In accordance with HEE guidance we are delivering all VTS sessions online until we have guidance that it’s appropriate and safe to return to face to face teaching.

The group meets for 18 whole day session at fortnightly intervals (most schemes meet 36 weekly sessions for half a day). Dates are planned a year in advance, and the time is deducted from study leave. This should allow the Trusts to arrange appropriate rotas and locum cover as necessary.

Yes. The STs should be free from commitments for the full 24 hours of their study day, hence you are entitled to negotiate the night shift off before the VTS session or the night shift after.

Wiki in Newham VTS MS Teams

The meetings are held out of the hospital setting. We now hold the sessions at the East Ham Town Hall, Barking Road, London E6 2RP. It was particularly to help enable STs to be freed from the hospitals, to attend regularly.

If there is genuine reason for not attending the VTS day (which is stipulated as part of a trainees study leave), then certainly inform the admin (admin@newhamgpvts.org.uk) VTS attendance overall, taking all into account should be above 80%, which historically the Newham VTS has achieved.

Failure to attend is looked upon by the Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP) panel. Attendance rate is also able to be put forward on the “professionalism” section of the e-portfolio as can time-keeping so as far as possible this should be kept as high as possible.

Your educational supervisor can be located by accessing the wiki on Newham VTS MS Teams.

This needs to be set up locally and then you can access your email from www.NHS.net. If you are in a GP practice – email support@egton.net stating which practice you are working in.

If you are working at Newham University Hospital email ITSupport@newhamhealth.nhs.uk and tell them which consultant you are working under.

There is the NEL Sessional GP group.  To join a local group contact the following person:

Dr Shanaz Husain – shanaz.husain@nhs.net

This is a mandatory part of your training involving all the VTS trainees.

It often involved a whole day of focusing on an aspect of general practice and a self – development theme, working in groups. If anyone anticipates a problem with attendance they must let the admin know.

There is also a separate 2 day away day for ST3s only who are about to exit the VTS  usually in May/June, that focuses on the needs of issues coming towards the end of training.

All trainees are allowed 30 days study leave annually.

Hospital trainees are allowed 15 days study leave in each 6 month post. The leave is subject to the hospital study leave policy and you need to apply for approval 6 weeks in advance so that your service commitments may be covered.

In some specialities it is difficult to get study leaves because of rotas and other administrative considerations, but please do still apply. This helps the VTS to monitor and address systemic problems. You are more likely to be successful and be supported by your clinical and education supervisors if you have a well thought out and up to date personal learning plan.

GP Trainees Study Leave Guide

Please read the guide LTFT Trainee Applicant Guide

You need to discuss this with your allocated TPD and if this is the way you need to proceed you can complete the application for via this link LTFT Application Form

You need to complete 6 OOHs sessions in your GP ST1/2 post and 12 sessions in your ST3 post 108 hours in total.

Do not arrange internal swaps – if you cannot attend your allocated OOH session then inform OOH.

Street doctor is an innovative annual activity that we run at Newham VTS. It involves the trainees with the PDs setting up stalls along the local high street and providing health promotion and opportunistic engagement with the passing public. We are supported by the local council who approve this public engagement project every year and one of our past trainees created a poster to highlight the Street Doctor work and was given an RCGP award.

The GP Simulation day is an HEE funded project which is co-ordinated locally between the VTS and the The Royal London Hospital. All trainees spend the day in the Royal London Simulation lab with a series of stations that are tailored to General Practice skills from dealing with the medical emergencies, the acutely unwell patient, bread and butter examination and skills and communication skills to deal with challenging situations. We get good feedback for this activity and so far each event has been a highly successful addition to the training provided over the 3 year VTS scheme.