Contents

• Study Leave
• Study Leave Allowance
• Claiming Leave
• The Study Leave Claim Process
• Study Leave Administrators
• Study Leave Expenses
• Educational Development Time (EDT) Time
• EDT for different years of training:
• EDT (SPA) Workbooks

Study Leave

Here you will find information on claiming study leave in the Mersey Deanery.

This link will take you directly to the HEENW study leave website where forms and additional information can be found when making an application.

To make study leave request you can go directly to the Accent Leave system: Here

We strongly advise you read the North West School of Anaesthesia's Guide to Supervision, Study leave & Educational Development Time:

Study Leave Allowance

All trainees are entitled to 30 days per year of study leave.

Each trainee has a fixed budget. As the money is held for the school, some trainees (usually the more senior) can be allowed to exceed their budget, whilst others (usually the more junior CTs & STs concentrating on exam success) will often underspend. Study leave is granted at the discretion of the Head of School or nominated deputy. The 30 days may end up being unevenly distributed between different hospitals in a given stage of training.  The School of Anaesthesia top slices study leave budgets & uses the money to provide specific training opportunities in Stage 1 & Stage 2. As such, local primary & final FRCA courses, stand-alone courses,simulation days & “special Wednesdays” etc. will all automatically be granted as study leave. These NW regional teaching days are designed to aid exam preparation.  We expect trainees to attend all of the training opportunities paid for by the top-slice, unless there are exceptional circumstances (post call, annual leave etc).  Attendance at the school courses may lead to an uneven split of study leave between trusts. Any additional study leave requested should be shared as evenly as possible between different hospitals in a given academic year. Leave requests are granted at the discretion of the rota-master of each hospital.  Prior to the FRCA exam, trainees may be given up to five days of private study leave in addition to the time to attend the examination. HENW allow up to 7 days private study per year, which includes the exam day itself. As such private study will be granted up to a maximum of 5 days per year. 

Exam Fees and expenses are not paid from the study leave budget. Trainees may apply for overseas study leave once only during their training, an award towards (not fully) the costs of travel and accommodation may be given at the discretion of the Associate Dean. 

Claiming Leave

To make study leave request you can go directly to the Accent Leave system: Here

It is essential that you complete your application as soon as you have received Educational Supervisor (ES) and Rota Coordinator approval. Any application completed less than 42 days before the course start date will require a reason to be considered for expenses. Any applications that would be retrospective will need to be emailed to the study leave team (studyleave.nw@hee.nhs.uk) to be considered and reviewed, if needed, by the Postgraduate Deputy Dean. Please note expenses may and could be declined, especially if applied for retrospectively or with short notice.

The expenses cannot be claimed until the course has ended. Once the course has finished (the end date of your application), you can then complete the expense claim process. Please be aware that you have 3 months from the course end date to complete the expenses reimbursement process. If received after this time, expenses will not be reimbursed.

The Study Leave Claim Process

Study Leave Administrators

Simon Mercer - simon.mercer@liverpoolft.nhs.uk

Study Leave Expenses

Once approved you will be able to claim expenses through Accent . Please be aware that you have 3 months from the course end date to complete the expenses reimbursement process. If received after this time, expenses will not be reimbursed

You can claim expenses for:

Travel - Up to the cost of a standard class return ticket via train. Mileage is charged at 23p/mile from base hospital.

Course Fee - As specified in the original claim when approved.

Accommodation - £120/night B&B outside London and £150/night within London.

Subsistence - up to £20.

Keep records and receipts for accommodation and subsistence claims to be successful.

Educational Development Time (EDT) Time

Formerly known as SPA time, from August 2021 trainees will be allowed to take 'SPA' time to work towards viewing online tutorials, completing QI projects, being involved in preparation for teaching and training others, completing tasks towards further Post-graduate qualifications and preparing their applications for ST4, consultant jobs or other roles. This will also allow time for trainees to work towards completing evidence towards the Generic Professional Capabilities on the 2021 Curriculum.

This will be separate to Study Leave, and will take the place of the Primary and Final weekly tutorial programmes.

It is voluntary and traineess may prefer to spend the time in the clinical workplace.

Trainees who miss their EDT time due to on-call commitments, so nights or post on-call, will not be able to request that this be taken at another time. This is to ensure that we minimise time away from clinical training, while allowing time for the extra-clinical domains that they will need to complete.

In exceptional circumstances, Trusts may require trainees to work clinically in place of their EDT. This is understandable & acceptable, but should be the exception, not the norm. If trainees routinely miss out on EDT the College Tutor should be informed.

The School of Anaesthesia has suggested specific days on which EDT will routinely be taken. This predictability makes it easier for Trusts to allocate rota sessions, and allows the School to arrange specific training days etc. Trainees working less than full time should take EDT on a pro-rata basis – for example a trainee working 60% should take EDT for one half day every 2 weeks. LTFT trainees may also request alternative days for their EDT if the suggested days clash with days off. These arrangements should be locally agreed with host Trusts.

EDT for different years of training:

CT1 - attend New Starter Tutorials and the North West Primary regional course face-to-face. SPA to take the place of the Primary Tutorial Programme (Tuesday pm) AFTER completion of the New Starter Tutorial programme. EDT - Tuesday afternoon.

CT2 - attend the North West Primary regional course face-to-face. SPA to take the place of the Primary Tutorial Programme (Tuesday pm). EDT - Tuesday afternoon.

CT3 - SPA to take the place/time of the Primary Tutorial Programme (Tuesday pm). EDT - Tuesday afternoon.

ST4 - attend the North West Final regional course, Special Wednesdays and working through the four ST4 subspecialties. SPA to take place/time of the Final Tutorial Programme (Wednesday pm). EDT - Wednesday afternoon.

ST5 - if not already, attend the North West Final regional course and Special Wednesdays. SPA to take place/time of the Final Tutorial Programme (Wednesday pm). EDT - Wednesday afternoon.

ST6 and 7 - able to take 20 half-days as EDT over the course of the year, not part of Study Leave.

For ST6 and 7, these are half-days, and the half-days will be allocated by the College Tutors or local Rotamasters in discussion with the trainee, and be spread throughout the working week. Any  half-day for each individual trainee is likely to be different each week, to ensure that this is done fairly for all trainees. This is for EDT and so should not be put together to make extra annual leave. We will be asking for evidence of what has been achieved at ARCP, and we will define how this evidence is presented.

For those trainees in CT1 and 2, and ST4 and 5 they will be expected to evidence having viewed at least 20 Primary and Final tutorials as part of exam preparation, which will be accessed online  via the mmacc/e-LFH website, and evidenced by certificates of completion, logbook and PDF of completion from the E-LFH website:

EDT (SPA) Workbooks

The links for the workbooks can be found here as well as a guide for making the most of the workbooks:

Guide: Optimising the Stage 1 and Stage 2 WorkbooksThese workbooks have been designed for trainees completing stage one and stage two training. They contain lists of appropriate video tutorials available for each stage of training and also the dates for the face to face tutorials/courses which can also be found on the teaching and revision section of this website:These are live google documents that are 'read-only'. It is advised that you open the file and save a copy for your own personal use. You can then edit and tick off each tutorial you watch/attend, and use this as supplementary evidence of how you have utilised your SPA time and this can be uploaded to your Lifelong Learning Portfolio as evidence of CPD. If a tutorial name has not got a link attached to it, this means it has not yet been created (work ongoing). Please check the SAVEd section of mmacc.uk website, or this master copy of the stage 1 and 2 workbooks for the most up to date tutorial list.Alternatively if you do not have access to Google Documents and would prefer to use an Excel Spreadsheet, the links can be found here:

School of Anaesthesia (Mersey) Courses: The School employs a system of ‘top-slicing’ money from each trainee’s study budget to provide a range of courses and meetings for trainees in each stage of training. This improves efficiency by allowing forward planning and reduces bureaucracy as trainees are not required to apply for study leave and claim expenses from the Deanery. As a result, each trainee’s study budget is reduced by a defined amount (see relevant Training Guides page for further information), dependent on the courses which are provided for their stage of training. The list of courses and meetings which are ‘top-sliced’ can be found on the Courses & Meetings page. These courses have been pre-approved by the TPDs and Head of School and do not require a study leave application to the Deanery, they only require local approval for attendance from the rota co-ordinator.

Other Courses: Any courses which are not ‘top-sliced’ require an application to the Deanery for study leave via the Accent system. Further information is available from the NHS England - North West study leave page here. Leave may be taken and expenses claimed dependent on local and national guidelines and the trainee’s remaining study budget. The study budget year runs from 1st March, so trainees may wish to factor this in when applying for courses for which they intend to claim expenses. Please ensure you apply for study leave at least 6 weeks before undertaking a course to ensure you can claim expenses back. The Deanery require a reason for late requests and do not accept retrospective applications. Trainees then have 3 months from the course end date to complete the expenses reimbursement process.

Leave: The total time away from clinical training due to annual leave and study leave combined during a 3-month period should be no more 15-16 days (pro rata for LTFT trainees). This reflects the fact that most trainees have 32 days of annual leave (dependent on time working in the NHS) and 30 days of study leave per year, which should be spread out evenly so trainees gain an adequate amount of clinical experience to meet curriculum requirements. This may be particularly relevant around examinations, so trainees need to plan their leave at these times carefully. Of these 30 days of study leave, 7 days may be taken as private study leave at the discretion of your Educational Supervisor, with attendance at an examination counting towards this.

Self-Development Time: All trainees are allowed 2 hours per week (pro rata for LTFT trainees) of self-development time, sometimes called supported professional activity (SPA) time. This can be used for any non-clinical work but is primarily intended for portfolio and other training-related administrative tasks. Trainees should therefore aim to take this regularly and try to avoid taking it as half days or full days off if possible. This should be arranged locally and taken at a mutually acceptable time for trainee and rota co-ordinator.

Teaching: Study leave may be taken for teaching on courses at the discretion of the Head of School. If you wish to request study leave for teaching, please contact Dr Simon Mercer (simon.mercer@liverpoolft.nhs.uk) before applying. If study leave is granted, trainees are expected to collect feedback on teaching and reflect on this within the Lifelong Learning Platform.

Life Support Courses: Life support courses such as Advanced Life Support (ALS) or Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS) are not required by either 2010 or 2021 RCoA Curricula and are therefore not a requirement at ARCP. The cost of these courses may be claimed from any remaining study budget, but this amount may not be enough to cover the full cost of the course after top-slicing. The cost of the Generic Instructor Course (GIC) may also be claimed from any remaining study budget, but again this unliklely to cover the full cost of the course. If in doubt, please contact Dr Simon Mercer (simon.mercer@liverpoolft.nhs.uk) before applying for a course.

Exceptions: Expenses may not be claimed for the following courses, in line with local and national requirements to ensure study budgets are used responsibly and represent good value for money. As such the following courses may only be approved for study leave time:

MSA Exam Courses (except Booker Course)

If you have any questions regarding the information above, please contact Dr Simon Mercer (simon.mercer@liverpoolft.nhs.uk) before applying for a course.