Hospital Practice
The Hospital Practice section works to serve training grade doctors in Wales, by providing the highest possible quality of education and training and to respond to their needs and interests within the framework of a patient-centred health service, mindful of the principles and directions set by the Welsh Assembly Government.
People rightly expect their doctors to be knowledgeable and skilled and trust them to provide the highest standards of care. The Section of Hospital Practice is tasked to ensure that the provision of the highest standards of medical education and training within a constantly changing environment is delivered within Wales. The need for a properly trained workforce for Wales is a key outcome measure. Working closely with the Welsh Assembly Government the School responds to national initiatives and the changing demands of the secondary care sector.
Close working relationships with the Welsh Assembly Government at specialist level allows for the workforce needs to be matched with the available training grade output. This is of particular importance in those specialties where there currently exist shortages at consultant level. The implementation of the European Working Directive has placed considerable challenges on both the Section of Hospital Practice and individual Trusts. Involvement of all stakeholders in the education process is a key to developing the innovative solutions to training required within the context of service delivery constrained by hours of work.
The Section is fully committed to the concept of choice and this is recognised in the increasing demands for Less Than Full Time Training. Likewise, the issue of diversity and those doctors seeking refugee or asylum status are addressed within specific programmes within the Section. The public expect their doctors to be fit to practice. This is a key quality assurance issue and policies are being developed for all grades and reinforced by a close working relationship with the undergraduate medical school. For those doctors who require retraining we work closely with the National Clinical Assessment Authority and the educational prescriptions which its assessments make.