Contents

• Study Leave
• Study Leave Allowance
• School of Anaesthesia (Mersey) Courses
• Other Courses
• Special Circumstances
• Applying For Study Leave and Claiming Expenses
• The Study Leave Application Process
• Study Leave Administrators
• Study Leave Expenses
• More Details on availability of study leave based on stage of training
• 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 North West 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 and claim expenses 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 but 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.

Study leave may also 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 Janet Slee (janet.slee@sthk.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

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. Exam fees and expenses are not paid from the study leave budget.

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.

Special Circumstances

Trainees may apply for overseas study leave once only during their training, an award towards part of the costs of travel and accommodation may be given at the discretion of the Associate Dean.

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 Janet Slee (janet.slee@sthk.nhs.uk) before applying for a course.

Applying For Study Leave and Claiming Expenses

To make study leave request and claim expenses 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 and Rota Coordinator approval. Please note applications will be declined if submitted retrospectively, if the course or educational event is not considered relevant or if you have exceed your study leave budget (in which case you may get time only approved).

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.

Where appropriate, 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

The Study Leave Application Process

Study Leave Administrators

ACCS - bfwh.postgraduate.education@nhs.net

Core Trainee North School - postgrad@srft.nhs.uk

Core Trainee South School - coresurgery@mft.nhs.uk

ST3+ Trainee - lesley.taylor@mft.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.

More Details on availability of study leave based on stage of training

Educational Development Time (EDT) Time

The Royal College of Anaesthetists has recommended that all anaesthetists in training (AiT) have time in the working week to aid with completion of the key capabilities required for the 7 GPC HALOs, and well as keep up-to-date with their portfolios, use for exam work, be involved in teaching, research and quality improvement projects, and attend clinical opportunities that might not be available in their current place of work.

The RCoA recommendations are that AiT are given two hours a week. They recommend that it should be on site, and the AiT may be asked to return to clinical work if necessary for the department.

EDT is not given over 52 weeks of the year, but only the weeks that the AiT is at work, which after annual leave, study leave and bank holidays equates to approximately 40 weeks a year. This means that each AiT is eligible for 80 hours of EDT throughout the year, or 16 half-days. As a School we have always believed that it would be more beneficial for AiT to have half-days in a place of their choosing rather than 2 hours a week on site, and been more generous in the time allowed for EDT.

From August 2025 the way we will be delivering EDT will be changing:

IAC – during the first three months of training, AiT will be expected to attend New Starter Tutorials which will replace their EDT.

Stage 1 – AiTs will be able to have 20 half-days per year, spread out evenly as 5 half-days per quarter. EDT cannot be carried over from one Trust or placement to another. During CT1/ACCS2 the AiT would be able to have 15 half-days for the nine months after the IAC period. When these are delivered will be decided by the College Tutor/department that the AiT is working at, allowing for the numbers of AIT required to deliver a safe service.

Stage 2 – AiTs will be able to have 20 half-days per year, spread out evenly as 5 half-days per quarter. EDT cannot be carried over from one Trust or placement to another. When these are delivered will be decided by the College Tutor/department that the AiT is working at, allowing for the numbers of AiT required to deliver a safe service. Once the Final FRCA has been completed, then EDT will be the same as in Stage 3.

Stage 3 - AiTs will be able to have 20 half-days per year, spread out evenly as 5 half-days per quarter. EDT cannot be carried over from one Trust or placement to another. When these are delivered will be decided in discussion with the College Tutor/department that the AiT is working at, allowing for the numbers of AiT required to deliver a safe service.

LTFT – in all stages of training, any AiT working LTFT would be eligible for EDT pro rata. An AiT working LTFT at 80% would have 16 half-days, and 60% would have 12 half-days per year, or 4 half-days and 3 half-days per quarter respectively.

As mentioned above, EDT can be used to further clinical experience rather than for the GPCs, so the AiT might choose to do this at their place of work or organise this at a different Trust with agreement from their TPD. If evidence of clinical experience is lacking from a particular HALO, the Tutor might suggest not using EDT and remaining in the place of work to improve this to ensure that key capabilities are achieved.

Some College Tutors/departments may allow AiTs to put some of their EDT together to make up whole days of EDT, but this should not be an expectation of the AiT for all departments. EDT should not be used to extend annual leave, and should an AiT need to shorten the working week for wellbeing reasons, then rather than using EDT for this, we would ask that the AiT speak to their College Tutor so that options such as LTFT training can be considered.

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.

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: