Strathcarron Hospice clinical staff have been praised for their education work supporting resident doctors in training by NHS Education for Scotland (NES).

The quality of training in palliative medicine posts and the training environment at the Forth Valley hospice were amongst the positive feedback which was shared at a recent Scotland Deanery Quality Review Panels and Good Practice Review Panel.

Other areas lauded included:

• Clinical Supervision
• Educational Environment & Teaching
• Team culture
• Wellbeing and support
• Equality & Inclusivity

Staff who would have shared their feedback of their time at Strathcarron included newly qualified foundation doctors, GP registrars who will become GPs and specialty registrars who will become palliative medicine consultants of the future.

Professor Adam Hill Lead Dean Director – Quality at NHS Education for Scotland, said to the local Director of Medical Education: “I write on behalf of the Medicine, Surgery, Occupational Medicine and AICEM Specialty Quality Management Group to congratulate you, and the trainers associated with training in Palliative medicine at Strathcarron Hospice, on the positive training environment for resident doctors in training.

 “We appreciate your leadership of training for your Health Board, but also recognise the valuable contribution made by your trainers, and we are delighted to be able to share our awareness of the positive feedback that we have received about the training you provide.”

 

Qualified doctors can work at the hospice as part of their ongoing training for between 4-12 months.

Dr Gillian Foster, Medical Director/Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Strathcarron Hospice, said: “This excellent praise for our education and training for clinical staff is a wonderful reflection of the work at the hospice and how passionate the staff are about passing on their knowledge, expertise and experience in the palliative care sector.

 “Our hospice consultants are educational and clinical supervisors and responsible for ensuring that they meet the resident doctors' curricular requirements and that there is a positive learning environment. 

 “We are delighted our NHS colleagues feel they have gained valuable experience, education and support during their time with us. It’s wonderful for our staff to see them flourish during their training and positive to know they can go on to share their learnings more widely as they move on to their future posts.

 “We have also received lovely feedback about the wonderful home-cooked fresh food at the hospice Papermill Cafe - something everyone always mentions they will miss when they leave us!”

 Read more from Doctors in training Claire and Lewis share their experience of Strathcarron Hospice 

TRAINING 

Over the last year the Hospice has provided short placements for 11 doctors training in general medicine, and 11 University of Glasgow medical students.

 Alongside supporting doctor training and student nursing placements, Strathcarron Hospice is an industry leader in palliative care and end of life training.

Regular training placements for students is also provided across all our teams - for example Allied Health Professionals (AHP), social work, complementary therapy and chaplaincy - as part of our aim to improve palliative care through others. 

QELCA

Strathcarron also provides ‘Quality End of Life Care for All’ (QELCA) training - a transformative and empowering educational programme designed to foster compassionate care for individuals at the end of life and their families in any care setting; masterclasses in palliative care and an annual conference featuring expert speakers and the latest developments in the sector.

The hospice is also part of the Project ECHO Community, a global tele mentoring model that joins communities (in this case, health and social care) together so they can learn with and from each other.

The goal of the programme is to increase the capacity of care providers to safely and effectively support and manage those with chronic, common and complex conditions. 

The ECHO model uses videoconferencing to enable specialists, such as those from palliative care to share their knowledge and expertise with other health or social care professionals.