Endocrinology and Diabetes Mellitus

The HEE KSS training programme in Endocrinology & Diabetes Mellitus is a 5 year programme, leading to dual accreditation in the specialty together with General (Internal) Medicine. It is led by Nik Patel, Head of School, and Dr Deborah Ruth Bosman and Dr James Clark, Training Programme Directors. To find out more about their roles visit the Meet the Team webpage.

By choosing to train in Kent, Surrey & Sussex, trainees will have the opportunity to develop a broad base of specialty experience in the friendly and supportive units within the region, and then also deepen their sub-specialty knowledge within tertiary centres in the region as well a London teaching hospital.

By combining experience in HEE KSS trusts along with teaching hospital posts you can gain the experience and skills to become a well-rounded and confident endocrinologist – there are many fantastic training opportunities within the region. Within your DGH placements you will be involved in a full complement of general diabetes and endocrinology clinics, including:

  • General Diabetes
  • General Endocrinology
  • Antenatal care
  • Transitional and Young Person’s clinics
  • Diabetes Foot clinics
  • Insulin pump management

Many hospitals within KSS also provide expertise in sub-specialist areas and over the course of the programme you will have access to more specialised services including:

  • Paediatric Endocrinology
  • Reproductive Endocrinology
  • Radio-iodine treatment
  • Lipid clinics
  • Monogenic Diabetes
  • Metabolic Bone clinics
  • Bariatric clinics

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust is a tertiary referral centre for pituitary surgery where you can gain experience in peri-operative pituitary management, in addition to the experience available in London.

Structured training

KSS trainees join the South London trainees for a monthly training day located centrally within South London. The training programme is designed to cover all aspects of the curriculum and ensure that you will acquire the specialist knowledge needed to pass the Specialty Certificate Exam, as well as gaining insight into research opportunities. We also run a six-monthly Clinical Cases Meeting for specialist trainees, educational supervisors and other consultants. This meeting is an opportunity to present and discuss interesting clinical problems, showcase excellent and innovative practice within the region, and also network with colleagues.

Where do we provide training?

Our posts are organised into two geographical sub-rotations, with shared opportunities to access tertiary centre placements, though with flexibility to move rotations depending on individual training needs and personal circumstances.

To find out more about each training location, please visit the Local Education Provider webpage.

West rotation

  • Worthing Hospital, Worthing – Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • St Richard’s Hospital, Chichester – Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey – Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • Frimley Park Hospital, Frimley – Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
  • East Surrey Hospital, Redhill – Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
  • Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford – Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust
  • Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton – Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
  • Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath – Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
  • A London teaching hospital

East rotation

  • Eastbourne District General Hospital, Eastbourne – East Sussex Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
  • Conquest Hospital, Eastbourne – East Sussex Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
  • Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford – Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust
  • Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton – Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
  • Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath – Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
  • Medway Maritime Hospital, Medway – Medway NHS Foundation Trust
  • Tunbridge Wells Hospital, Pembury – Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust
  • William Harvey Hospital, Ashford – East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust
  • Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mother Hospital, Margate – East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust
  • Darent Valley Hospital, Dartford – Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust
  • A London teaching hospital

Within this framework, we aim where possible for rotations to be family-friendly, and to minimise the need for travel or relocation during the programme. Typically, you can expect to spend the first two years (ST3, ST4) in geographically close DGHs within your sub-rotation, before gaining tertiary centre experience in KSS (Guildford or Brighton, one year) and London placements (one year) in the following two years (ST5, ST6) according to your training needs. The final year (ST7) is an opportunity to consolidate your training with a view towards planning your post-CCT career, and is usually spent in a DGH placement within your sub-rotation.

The order of both rotations will vary from trainee to trainee and not all locations will form part of each training programme. Tertiary experience will be delivered in one or more of the locations listed in the section titled “East & West rotation sites”.

A potential five-year rotation could be:

  • ST3 – Worthing
  • ST4 – Chichester
  • ST5 – Brighton
  • ST6- London
  • ST7 – Frimley

You will be invited to give your preferences for placements at recruitment and at the annual interim review, but the Training Programme Directors will need to ensure above all that placements meet your individual training needs, while at the same time maintaining overall programme balance.

Training pathway

To understand how the training pathway for Endocrinology and Diabetes Mellitus is structured please visit the training pathway webpage

Other opportunities

There are opportunities for out-of-programmes research experiences which could potentially lead you to a MD or PhD. These experiences are available in Brighton Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust hospitals and Royal Surrey County Hospital, where the CEDAR centre is established as a lead site for international studies, and is integrated with the University of Surrey, with opportunities for specialist trainees to get involved in research.

Specialist trainees are encouraged to attend national meetings including the Diabetes UK annual conference and the Society for Endocrinology BES conference, Clinical Update and National Cases Meetings, and also to become members of the excellent Young Diabetologists and Endocrinologists’ Forum (YDEF).