South Region
Trainees in the South region will spend their time in renal medicine in Northern General Hospital in Sheffield. NGH is one of the largest renal units in the country, and trainees have an opportunity to gain experience in various areas of renal curriculum, including acute transplantation and peritoneal dialysis. Rotations in Sheffield are purely renal and there is no G(I)M component during these rotations. During specialty training, you are expected to do one six month placement in Renal department in Doncaster.
The G(I)M component of dual training is undertaken in Rotherham District Hospital. During this rotation there is no renal training, but trainees are encouraged to participate in weekly nephrology meetings and teaching days – usually reserved for Thursdays afternoon.
The annual rotation of placements for the South occurs in August.
Contacts
Training Programme Director - Dr James Fotheringham
Email: james.fotheringham@nhs.net
Specialty Trainee Committee representative - Dr Matt Gittus
Email: matthew.gittus@nhs.net
For further contact please click here.
Our Hospitals
The Sheffield Kidney Institute (SKI) provides acute and chronic renal failure services for the 1.8m population of South Yorkshire in partnership with Doncaster Royal Infirmary. As one of the largest renal units in the country, SKI currently provides dialysis for around 650 patients, with 2 in-centre and 4 satellite dialysis units. 106 patients dialyse at home either by peritoneal or haemodialysis. 700 transplant recipients are followed up in the transplant clinic. 60-70 renal transplants are performed annually, and there is an active live donor programme.
There are 2 in-patient wards with a total of 41 beds, providing acute dialysis, transplant and plasma exchange services. The Renal Assessment Unit provides a rapid access assessment service for advanced CKD and transplant patients, to which patients may self-refer or be asked by medical staff to attend.
Renal training is provided mainly at SKI, with up to 12 months at Doncaster Royal Infirmary. General medicine training is usually provided at Rotherham General Hospital. Alternative secondments have previously been arranged including acute medicine jobs and hybrid renal/GIM jobs. These are organised according to training needs and availability of alternative vacancies. In addition to gaining experience managing patients in general nephrology, transplant and dialysis out-patient clinics, trainees will also have opportunity to attend a number of specialist clinics including: joint renal/ rheumatology; joint renal/antenatal; immunosuppression; PKD and genetics and low clearance and conservative care clinics.
Renal medicine on-call commitments are 24hr shifts with 12hrs on-site and 12hrs off-site. Thursday afternoons are usually reserved for teaching including the registrar teaching, histopathology meeting and SKI talk (which includes the Journal club).
SKI has been awarded an Academic Directorate status. We promote a culture of research and take part in a number of clinical trials. Current research interests in the directorate include PKD, dialysis (HD and PD) and renal bone disease. The renal department also has a well-developed audit, clinical governance and service improvement programmes with plenty of opportunities for trainees to pursue areas of specialist interest within this.
As a part of South Yorkshire renal training, specialty trainees rotate through the renal unit based in Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals for a period of 6 months to one year. The unit serves a population of 400,000 people. The purpose-built unit comprises renal outpatient clinic, renal inpatient ward with acute dialysis facility, an outpatient dialysis unit and the administrative offices. The trainees have the opportunity to acquire training in various aspects of renal care such as acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, dialysis and transplantation working in close collaboration with the renal multidisciplinary team.
The trainees work in a safe environment closely supervised by the consultant team. A named clinical supervisor ensures that their training needs are fully met. Trainees are encouraged to attend the regional training days and participate in departmental audits.
The unit also provides excellent training in procedural skills such as renal biopsy and fluoroscopically guided tunnelled dialysis catheter insertion. Moreover, the trainees have the opportunity to develop their leadership skills by supervising and mentoring the six-member renal junior doctor team
The G(I)M component of dual renal/general internal medicine training is provided at Rotherham hospital. Rotherham DGH serves a population of approximately 252,000 people, and the hospital reports around 75,000 patient attendances to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department per year with approximately 55,000 inpatients and 250,000 outpatient attendances to the hospital each year.
During your training, you will be expected to do at least 3 G(I)M rotations of up to 6 months. The G(I)M rotation is usually divided into two 3 months placements in Acute medicine and Diabetes and Endocrinology, where trainees are involved in ward duties as well as outpatient clinics. You are expected to take part in acute medical on-call rota. Please note you will be doing general internal medicine exclusively during this rotation you. However, you are encouraged and supported to attend nephrology teaching days, courses, and conferences.