Rheumatology in Gloucestershire
The Rheumatology Department at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is staffed by 5 consultants, 4 clinical nurse specialists, 2 speciality registrars (one from Severn Deanery and one on the Oxford rotation) and a ward based ST1/2. The department provides services for the whole of Gloucestershire and clinics are run predominantly at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and Cheltenham General Hospital, as well as at several peripheral hospitals. Drs Gill Coombes, Sarah Hickey and Ramesh Mootoo are based at Gloucestershire Royal, and Drs Hilary Johnson and Elaine Smith (Educational Supervisor) predominantly at Cheltenham. The consultants have special interests in metabolic bone disease, SLE and tropical rheumatology. Dr Smith and Dr Johnson also provide a transitional adolescent clinic. Gloucester is situated within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is 50 mins by car or 30 mins by train from Bristol.
Training post
The Severn Deanery StR post is based at Gloucester Royal Hospital. As the StR, you will spend 3 days /week in rheumatology with 3 general rheumatology clinics seeing a broad mix of rheumatological conditions. The clinic template size is tailored to suit your experience with a mix of new and follow ups. One of the clinics involves teaching the medical students from Bristol University. Inpatients are generally cared for on ward 7B and the number of inpatients under our care varies typically from 1– 6. There is 1 main multidisciplinary team ward round per week. The StR will be involved in seeing ward referrals throughout the week which will be supervised by the consultants. In addition they will be expected to conduct 1 ward round per week with the ST1/2. There are 2 half day sessions for admin / ward referrals. There is also the opportunity to carry out a joint injection clinic.
The other 2 days of the week are spent doing General Medicine with Dr Phillips’ endocrinology team. The post includes a commitment to the general medical take when other clinical activity is cancelled.
The Educational Supervisor meets with the trainee regularly.
From a Trainees perspective
“The post is busy but gives excellent exposure to general rheumatology, particularly the ward referrals. The team from Consultants to secretaries are all extremely supportive. There are opportunities to spend time with allied team members and for teaching and audit. I would recommend the job to future trainees."