Useful Resources

Clinical Course & Examinations Refund Scheme (CCERS): HSE-NDTP provide a suite of educational supports for NCHDs. The HSE-NDTP Clinical Course and Exam Refund Scheme (CCERS) is one of these supports and provides funding towards and approved list clinical courses and exams.

All doctors employed under the 2010 NCHD contract are eligible to apply for refunds under the CCERS.  Eligible NCHDs (ie holders of the HSE NCHD contract (2010)) can apply for a refund upon successfully passing an exam, or completing a course. Unsuccessful attempts at exams are not eligible for a refund under the CCERS, however it may be possible to claim for these attempts via the Training Support Scheme.

The most up to date CCERS Policy Document can be found by clicking on the link here

Training Support Scheme (TSS): This scheme is open to all NCHDs who hold a current HSE NCHD contract 2010 for a minimum period of 12 weeks and are working in an HSE funded post. Funding is allocated based on Grade and the table below indicates the amount available under the TSS for each registration training year, July – July. Funding is available pro-rata for doctors employed on shorter contract durations. It has been agreed that there will be an increase in the individual TSS allowance with effect from 09th January 2023 as follows:

Grade	Amount per Registration Year
Intern	€ 1,250
SHOs and Registrars	€ 1,750
SPRs/GP Registrars/Psychiatry SRs on a training scheme	€ 2,500

The criteria around which clinical courses, conferences and examinations that can be claimed for under TSS plus a detailed explanation of the Scheme is provided in the  TSS Training Supports Policy Jan-23 which contains a detailed explanation of the Scheme.

The Specialist Training Fund was introduced by the HSE to support senior trainees participation in education and training activities in addition to the mandatory elements of specialist training provided by their training body. You can claim up to €500 per year for participation in relevant non-mandatory educational activities (such as attendance at conferences) from the Specialist Training Fund for SAT 3 – 6 Trainees. To be eligible, you must be in a clinical specialist training post year 3 – 6 and hold an NCHD contract. The funding available to you is €500 per year. You can carry over €500 each year but you can’t claim such funding in advance. For further information, please read the Guidance Document prepared by the HSE, available below. To claim funding you must complete the Reimbursement Form, also available below. If you have any questions about the reimbursement process, please contact finance@coa.ie.

The most up to date HST Fund Policy Document can be found here:

1. Download Specialist Training Fund Guidance Document (pdf)
2. Download Specialist Training Fund Reimbursement form (pdf)

The College supports the concept of “less than full time training (LFTT)”.  In exceptional circumstances, the College & HSE National Doctors Training & Planning (NDTP) have agreed a policy on flexible training options.  All applications will be treated positively but cannot be guaranteed.  Training should be completed where possible within the training year timelines from July to July.  Requests for flexible training options will be considered on an individual basis and in line with the current training allocations process. Please see the CAI Flexible training policy for further details: Download Flexible training policy.

HSE NDTP Flexible Training Scheme

The HSE National Doctors Training and Planning Unit operates a National Flexible Training Scheme, which allows a small number of trainees to train part-time for a set period of time. To qualify you must be in SAT 2 onwards and have a well-founded reason to apply, e.g. responsibility for young children or elderly relatives, or personal family circumstances. You cannot apply for flexible training in order to pursue other paid work or research. Applications for flexible training can be made up to 12 months in advance of the proposed date of commencement of flexible training. We recommend applying as soon as possible, as applications are considered in the order in which they are received and places are limited. The equivalent of 16 whole-time places are available on the National Flexible Training Scheme. The actual number Trainees on the scheme at any given time ranges from 25 – 32. There’s no guarantee that you will be successfully placed on the scheme but each application is considered on its own merits and within the capacity of the scheme and the resources available to the HSE. For details of appointment and funding arrangements for flexible trainees, please click on the link HSE NDTP website for full details

Job Sharing:

If trainees are interested in job sharing opportunities they must first notify the Training Department on Training@coa.ie at least 6 – 12 months in advance.  The Training Department will keep a list of trainees with similar requests and where possible try to pair suitable trainees.  Trainees can also use the CAT swaps spreadsheet which now has a separate tab to register your interest for job sharing, please see here https://tinyurl.com/CATrotationswaps. It will be up to the trainees to submit a full proposal on a suitable job sharing arrangement.  Trainees must use one of their allocated training posts for the job share and ideally trainees will stay 12 months in the same location for ease of organisation.  Approval must be sought in the first instance from the proposed training site and a full proposal submitted to the Directors of Training for consideration.

Parental Leave:

If trainees wish to take Parental Leave they must first seek approval from their training site.  If approved then they must notify the Training Department on Training@coa.ie regarding the terms of their parental leave.  Trainees who take this type of leave will usually be working at 80% WTE which is similar to trainees on the Less Than Full Time Training programme.  In this case additional training time will be required by these trainees at the end of their training to make up any training time missed.

The day to day running of the rotations is undertaken by the Training Department under the guidance of the Directors of  Training and the Training Committee. Staff in the Training Department are available for discussion of issues which arise either with trainees or with hospitals. The rotations are designed to allow achievement of all competencies over the six years of the programme.

On the programme, your training takes place in hospitals, where you work as part of the clinical team. Over the course of the training programme you will train in at least three geographical locations in Ireland (E.g. minimum 12 months outside the eastern regional Hospitals).   If you require further information please contact the Training Department on training@coa.ie

• Trainees can only swap with trainees in the same year of the training programme.
• Notice of a potential swap at least six months in advance of the start date, so by 30th June for a January swap and by 31st December for a July swap.
• Applications for a swap must be submitted to the Training Department using the new online application process on your e-Portfolio for Training.
• It needs to be clear whether the swap is for 6 or 12 months and neither party can create a situation where a key component of the rotation is compromised e.g. missing a module necessary for Certificate of Satisfaction Completion of Specialist Training (CSCST) or experience in a smaller hospital (minimum six months) or to avoid the general rule that all trainees need to experience anaesthesia training in three geographical regions in a national six-year training scheme. A swap may not go ahead until the approval is given by the Training Committee.
• The application form allows you to formally submit a request for one 6 month swap, which you must agree in advance with another trainee. If the request is for a second 6 month swap please complete a second form. Written confirmation is required that you are both happy to proceed with the swap.
• The Committee of Anaesthesiology Trainees (CAT) have developed a rotation swap spreadsheet which can be found here https://tinyurl.com/CATrotationswaps.  This is to make it easier and more accessible for trainees to arrange a suitable swap. Please note: Requests to change an allocation without being replaced in the allocated hospital cannot be accommodated.  All swap requests must be submitted to the Training Department using the online rotation swaps application form,  which is available on your e-Portfolio for Training.

Leave from the Training Programme

In exceptional circumstances where a trainee takes a period of leave up to 3 months within a six month rotation period, they will receive credit for the full six months, provided they have completed a minimum of 3 months of the appropriate on call duties.  This can only be taken once during the full 6 year training programme.  If any additional period of leave is taken after this time, there is no further credit allowed and the CSCST date is extended accordingly. This rule does not incorporate Flexible Training

General Attendance at study days, courses, exams & conferences including study leave

Entitlement is as per the NCHD Contract for educational leave.

Leave from the Scheme Unaccredited

Leave at end of SAT 2 or at the end of SAT 4 – The Training Committee have approved for trainees to apply for leave from the scheme at one of two points during their training.  The leave option is to facilitate greater flexibility for trainees with a view to promoting wellbeing.   It is intended to accommodate a trainee’s personal circumstances and so the purpose will not be prescribed but must be advised. Application will be through a formal process and decision to grant or refuse leave rests with the Training Committee. The leave from the scheme is called “Unaccredited Leave” and trainees will be able to apply to take leave at the end of SAT 2 or at the end of SAT 4 subject to a number of requirements and conditions outlined below:

Requirements:

• Applicants must have successfully completed the MCAI or the FCAI depending on the year of leave.
• Applications must be submitted using ‘Application for Leave from Training Scheme’, see link below, to the Training Department by August 28th for consideration for leave from the following July.
• Applications can only be for a 12-month period, i.e. minimum and maximum period of leave is 12 months.

Conditions:

• No credit will be given for time out of the programme irrespective of posts held while on leave.
• Trainees must return to the programme after 12 months, otherwise they will be considered to have withdrawn from the programme.
• The unaccredited leave option will be available to trainees once throughout their training programme.

Application Process and Timelines:

• Applications must be submitted on the ‘Application for Leave from Training Scheme’ form, available on the website, to the Training Department by the end of August for consideration for the following July.
• All applications will be presented to the Training Committee following the closing date of end of August for decision at the subsequent meeting.
• Rotations for subsequent years will not be allocated until the leave applications have been considered. It is expected that all decisions regarding the leave applications would be made at a September / October meeting which would allow for rotations to be allocated by mid-November.
• The number of applications granted in any one year will be taken with full cognisance of the College’s responsibility to support service provision and patient safety.
• Where it is considered that there are too many applications, the Training Committee has the discretion to determine which applications will be granted. In approving applications, the purpose will be taken into account with the intention of accommodating those applications that are in the spirit of the leave option, e.g. accommodating lifestyle choices, wellbeing etc.
• Ultimate decision to grant leave is at the discretion of the Training Committee. Decisions relating to “Unaccredited Leave” are not subject to appeal.

Unplanned Leave

• In other circumstances where leave is requested on grounds of personal health and well-being, it is accepted that normal notice period may not be possible.  In these circumstances and in the case of any leave request for personal health reasons, the Training Department should be contacted in the first instance.

Parental Leave 

If trainees wish to take Parental Leave, they must first seek approval from their training site.  If approved, then they must notify the Directors of Training regarding the terms of their parental leave. Trainees who take this type of leave will usually be working similar to trainees on the Less Than Full Time Training programme.  Additional training time will be required by these trainees at the end of their training to make up any training time missed.

Returning from Leave

The Training Department will contact trainees due to return from leave to confirm their return date and confirm their allocations.  The College have also developed a “Return to Programme” process for trainees who have taken more than 6 months leave from the SAT Programme. The process is to provide a strategy for trainees who take either planned or unplanned leave, what to do while they are on leave and managing a return to anaesthesia. A “Return to Programme” course has also been developed and it runs in two parts, online lectures and a Simulation course.  Further details on the trainee return to programme process are available here please click on the link.

Application for Leave from Training Scheme

Leave to complete an academic programme will be considered where a trainee obtains external funding to enable them undertake a PhD programme or a successful application to the Irish Clinical Academic Training (ICAT) programme.  Applications for academic leave must be made and approved prospectively (at least six months in advance of taking the leave).  Trainees must contact the Training Department regarding any request for academic leave.

If a trainee wishes to withdraw from the Training Programme before their expected CSCST date they must first notify their Tutor, then the Director of Training of their wish to withdraw from the Training Programme.  Trainees should give sufficient written notice before they wish to leave their current training post.

Grievance, disciplinary and complaints policy for trainees & tutors is currently under review. In the meantime, if you have any queries in relation to this please contact the Director of Training.

SAT REGIONAL HOSPITAL LIST 2023

• Eastern Region:
  • Beaumont Hospital
  • Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown
  • CHI, Crumlin
  • CHI, Temple Street
  • Coombe Hospital
  • Mater Misercordiae University Hospital
  • Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar
  • National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street
  • National Orthopaedic Hospital, Cappagh
  • Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda
  • Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Dublin
  • Rotunda Hospital
  • St James’s Hospital
  • St Vincent’s University Hospital
  • Tallaght University Hospital
• Southern Region:
  • Cork University Hospital
  • Mercy University Hospital, Cork
  • South Infirmary-Victoria Hospital, Cork
  • University Hospital Waterford
  • Wexford General Hospital
• Mid-Western Region:
  • University Hospital Limerick
• Western Region:
  • Letterkenny University Hospital
  • Mayo University Hospital
  • Sligo University Hospital
  • University Hospital Galway

• Download and print off e-Portfolio for Training Guide (pdf.) here
• Link to Kaizen here
• User Guide for Kaizen can be found here.