PAEDIATRIC & NEONATAL MEDICINE

Colchester Hospital

The team at Colchester Hospital is made up of 12 consultants, 2 associate specialists, 7 higher specialist trainees, 4 advanced paediatric/neonatal nurse practitioners and 7 SHOs.

Ipswich Hospital

The pediatric and neonatal team at Ipswich Hospital comprises of 10 consultants, 2 associate specialist doctors, 4 advanced paediatric/neonatal nurse practitioners, 7 higher specialty registrars and 4 senior house officers (SHOs). There are also a number of foundation doctors and GP trainees who rotate through the specialty.

The paediatric department has one inpatient ward with 4 x level 1 HDU beds, a paediatric assessment unit (PAU) and a paediatric investigation unit (PIU). The team works closely with the paediatric emergency department and attends peadiatric resus calls in the dedicated resus bay.

The neonatal department includes a level 2 NICU, the delivery and postnatal wards. It is a busy and active service with up to 500 admissions a year.

Ipswich Hospital is in the process of a £7 million update of the paediatric ward and outpatients department, so that all children and families in the area can benefit from the new and improved space.

The paediatric department has one inpatient emergency ward, one elective ward and a children’s assessment unit (CAU). The CAU operates a 24-hour service and the elective ward is used for elective surgical admissions and paediatric investigations. The team works with the emergency department, attending resus calls in the dedicated paediatric resus area. The team will also see any children under the age of 1 year as direct referrals to paediatrics.

The neonatal department includes a level 2 NICU, delivery and postnatal wards.

GMC Survey Feedback 2021/22

Ipswich Hospital was rated “outstanding” by the CQC. They also have excellent 2021/22 GMC survey results with ratings above average in a number of domains.

Training Opportunities

The consultants at Ipswich and Colchester hospitals have a wide variety of specialist interests and have clinics that trainees are encouraged to join including endocrine, epilepsy, oncology, cardiology, allergy, cystic fibrosis and neonatal medicine. Trainees have protected clinic time allocated on their rota.

Simulations are organised for both paediatric and neonatal experience, making use of the dedicated high-tech simulation suite at Ipswich Hospital. Specialist courses such as ePALs are also run in the ICENI center.

A regular Child Health Programme is published every month giving details of meetings and teaching scheduled. There are twice weekly departmental teaching, monthly x-ray meetings, governance and audit meetings. Trainees are encouraged to present at these.

Ipswich hospital strongly welcomes medical students on their paediatric rotation, elective placements from local universities, and junior doctors looking for exposure to paediatrics as a speciality on taster weeks. The department can be contacted directly to make inquiries.

I have been working at Ipswich Hospital for the last eight years, which should give you an idea that it is really a great place to work. Last year, I spent 6 months working as trust grade doctor in paediatrics. I enjoyed this so much that I decided to enter paediatric specialty training at Ipswich.

The department has been a great place to start my training. One advantage of working in a district general hospital is the close knit team, it doesn’t take long to get to know everyone you work with.

Getting to know my seniors has meant they are able to recognise my abilities and limitations, allowing them to tailor the support and training they give me. I’ve been encouraged to undertake practical procedures, given autonomy to assess and make plans for patients, and the support to feel confident to do so safely.

Another advantage of working in a small community is that you quickly get to know many of the patients in the region. Building relationships with patients and their families like this is one of my favourite aspects of paediatrics.

Dr Robert Mooney, ST1 Ipswich Hospital