St Richard’s Hospital

Director of Medical Education

Mr David Beattie

Clinical Tutor

Dr Christopher Smith

Foundation Training Programme Director(s)

Miss Angela Skull (F1 Lead)
Mr Clive Pratt (F2 Lead)

Careers Tutor(s)

Mr Clive Pratt

Medical Education Manager

Mrs Bebba Smithers

Medical Staffing Manager

Ms Mandy Atkinson

Foundation Programme Administrator(s)

Maggie Moles

Postgraduate Centre

The facilities of the Chichester Medical Education Centre (CMEC) are available to hospital staff and external clients, priority always being given to educational meetings, seminars and conferences. The ground floor of CMEC provides an excellent range of conference and seminar facilities. There are 9 seminar/tutorial rooms all with internet connection; a tiered lecture theatre seating 30 with extensive computerised av facilities; multiple X-ray viewer, overhead projector, dual slide projection and examination couch; and a large air conditioned tiered lecture theatre seating 70, with extensive computerised audio visual equipment, microscope, and video conferencing facilities. There is also a large hall capable of seating 250 people. All rooms are very well equipped with audio-visual facilities including internet connection, laptops, slide projection, overhead projectors, X-ray projection, TV/videos, etc.

An excellent café serving sandwiches, hot meals and beverages is available within CMEC for all clients. A large, 18-station IT training room was completed in September 2007 primarily for the use of doctors and medical students. All terminals have direct internet access and the IT suit is available 24 hours a day.

In CMEC we have a clinical skills facility with a faculty office for administration of courses, etc. The Simpson Clinical Skills Room has video conferencing installed to enable live inter-active links to theatres for training purposes. This room is well equipped with training equipment at the request of various departments. This superb facility will ensure that the clinical training opportunities at St Richard’s Hospital continue to develop and flourish. 

Accommodation

Accommodation is currently available at a cost of £418.00 per month for a single room (rents are reviewed annually from April).

Social activities

The active Doctor’s Mess has regular Mess parties, a ball twice a year and much more.

Doctors' mess

There is an active Doctor’s mess which the medical students can also access.

Library facilities

The Library situated in the Postgraduate Centre offers 24 hours access and IT provision.

IT facilities

A large, 18-station IT training room is available primarily for the use of doctors and medical students in the Postgraduate Centre. All terminals have direct internet access and the IT suite is available 24 hours a day.

Other facilities (Recreational or otherwise)

There is wireless internet in CMEC.
An excellent café serving sandwiches, hot meals and beverages is available within CMEC for all clients.

Local amenities/attractions

Chichester has its own marina. Goodwood and Fontwell race courses are close to the hospital. The Chichester Festival Theatre is only metres away. The Westgate Leisure Centre is on the outskirts of the town centre with swimming, a gym etc. There is a multi-screened cinema and bowling alley there plus much more. Chichester has many restaurants, pubs and shops to enjoy.

Transport links

There is a mainline train to London.  Also good access to Portsmouth, Southampton and Brighton via train or the A27.

Parking arrangements

There is on-site parking for which a permit is required (monthly fee).

Accolades/achievements of the trust

40 Top Hospitals Award
The Trust was named among the country’s 40 Top Hospitals for the second year running by CHKS, a leading independent provider of healthcare intelligence and quality improvement services. The awards recognise excellence and outstanding performance in 21 areas covering safety, clinical effectiveness, health outcomes, efficiency, patient experience and quality of care, which we believe are all critical to delivering good patient care.

Any additional information

Just a few of our achievements over the last 2 years.

Our accident and emergency (A & E) department was rated as one of the top performing departments in the country in the Healthcare Commission's Emergency Department national patient survey. 

The hospital achieved an 'excellent' rating for environment, food and standards of privacy and dignity for patients in the National Patient Safety Agency, Patient Environment Action Team assessment.

We were again rated in the top 20% for 'overall patient care' in the National Inpatient Survey.

The Trust was again named as one of the Top 40 Hospitals by CHKS, a leading healthcare benchmarking expert.  The awards are based on the evaluation of around 20 indicators covering clinical effectiveness, health outcomes, efficiency and patient experience and quality of care.

In the last 10 years St Richards Hospital has seen enormous development. The main hospital opened in 1996 and houses 17 wards, ITU and six main theatres with almost 100 consultants in total. The Chichester Treatment Centre was opened in April 2005 and houses 4 theatres, endoscopy and preoperative assessment areas. This year our new Cancer Day Unit, The Fernhurst Centre that opened.Here is where all of the cancer and haematology facilities will be available. Also the opening of our new, Donald Wilson Neurological Rehabilitation Centre.

There are twenty consultant/physicians representing most medical specialties including cardiology, rheumatology, respiratory medicine, neurology, care of the elderly, diabetes & Endocrinology, Haematology.

There are five consultants in general surgery, two in vascular, three in urology and six in Orthopaedics.

Our recently refurbished A&E department deals with 50,000 patients per annum overseen by four consultants, this includes a children’s A&E area. We have five O&G and five Paediatric consultants that handle 2,400 deliveries per year. All departments hold regular MDT meetings in the Chichester Medical Education Centre (CMEC). In addition, CMEC is host to foundation training, GP VTS training, courses e.g. ATLS, PLS, ALS, GP refresher courses.

CMEC attracts GP's, dentists and hospital doctors from an extremely wide area. Dentists from London regularly come down to attend dental courses and GPs from as far afield as Scotland come to CMEC for the bi-yearly GP Refresher Courses. There is also a good local attendance from the various disciplines. We also have an active VTS trainee scheme and a large intake of medical students from various medical schools. We work closely with Chichester College of Technology to provide NVQ Level 3 in Oral Health for dental nurses which links into our dental programme. We also provide a half day protected educational programme for all members of the GP practice team either hosted at CMEC or within practices.

Induction/shadowing arrangements

Incoming F1’s have four days of shadow and induction prior to starting their F1 rotations.

Educational and clinical supervision

All Foundation trainees have an Educational Supervisor for the year who meets regularly to discuss their progress and advise. They also have a Clinical Supervisor for each placement who will be responsible for your clinical work and providing feedback. 

Teaching programme

There are 28 F1’s and 27 F2’s based at Western Sussex Hospitals Trust with rotations through ICU, MAU, Psychiatry, General Practice, Orthopaedics, Acute Medicine & Surgery, Paediatrics & O&G, A&E, Rehabilitation and Care of the Elderly. In total there are 135 doctors in training with Trust Doctors to ensure that we are EWTD compliant.

Tasters

There are opportunities for taster days for both F1’s and F2’s – These are arranged on an individual basis.

Simulation

We have an excellent simulation department in the Postgraduate Centre which allows all foundation doctors to have a large number of simulation sessions.  In addition F1’s have a whole day simulation training session for which they receive a certificate.

Foundation doctor forums

It is a mandatory requirement to invite Foundation trainee representatives to the Foundation Faculty Meetings. They would have been elected by their peers to collect and feedback their views and concerns on their behalf at these meetings.

Any additional information

In April 09 St Richard’s Hospital merged with Worthing Hospital and Southlands Hospital to become one Trust, Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust. Also part of the Trust is the Bognor War Memorial Hospital in neighbouring Bognor Regis.

A commitment from the Friends of Chichester Hospitals to fund more than £300,000 worth of eye examination and surgery equipment has enabled us to set up a new Eye Day Surgery Unit (iDSU) at St Richard’s. The ophthalmology centre will grow to become a world-class centre equipped with medical innovations seen in few other facilities in the UK, and will end the need for patients in the Chichester area to travel to Worthing for examination, treatment and follow-up.

The Trust has invested £1 million in refurbishing and reopening the mothballed Day Surgery Unit (DSU) at St Richard’s Hospital to enable more patients to undergo operations. The DSU was taken out of use when it was replaced by the Chichester Treatment Centre in 2005, but has now been brought back into service in response to the rising number of people requiring surgery at the Trust.

The end of 2010 saw the opening at St Richard’s Hospital of a new Acute Medical Unit (AMU), which contains 43 beds across five single-sex bays, nine en-suite side rooms and a walk-in area with consulting, treatment and counselling rooms. The £1.2 million facility has been built to meet the needs of the growing number of people who need assessment or tests after being sent to hospital by their GP or referred for further investigation from Accident and Emergency.

The AMU replaces the old Medical Assessment Unit, which treated 8,000 people a year, and offers hi-tech care in a spacious environment that allows patients to remain in one area while undergoing the tests they need. Patients whose investigations may take up to 72 hours to complete can be admitted to a fully-equipped short-stay unit within the facility.