The City of Birmingham has a diverse and active cultural base ranging from socially deprived, multi-ethnic inner city wards to wealthy suburbs. The city centre is dynamic with a huge range of bars, restaurants and cultural centres, and excellent links to the whole of the UK and Europe.
There are six teaching hubs in two major acute Trusts:
In addition, the School offers placements in Paediatrics at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Public Health at Warwick University and Sandwell Local Authority, Psychiatry at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust and GP placements throughout the City and Solihull.
Most placements involve trainees in teaching medical students from the University of Birmingham Medical School and Aston University.
The School has a well organised but demanding Foundation Programme that was one of the first established in the UK. A tight QA policy ensures training is to a high standard, with regular revision of teaching programmes and educational supervision practices.
In addition, all trainees are encouraged to participate in a Windmills career planning course, and ‘Taster’ weeks are available for F1 and F2 trainees.
Foundation Teaching is organised centrally at each Hub on a weekly basis. Additional departmental teaching is also made available, which Foundation trainees are expected to attend. Teaching methods range from traditional lectures to interactive small group sessions, in which trainees are again expected to play a full part.
Linked application at programme level
Not applicable at allocation to programme stage.
Support for study abroad
West Midlands Central Foundation School does not support or accredit doctors who wish to undertake their F2 year outside the UK.
Submitting Queries via Freshdesk
Freshdesk (https://nhs-help.freshdesk.com/support/home) is now in use as the query management portal for resident doctor enquiries across the Midlands. This single point of contact system will allow the relevant teams to better manage and prioritise queries, and ensures there is one central place to contact them throughout the training programme, from recruitment to CCT. All queries related to recruitment or the current training programme should be raised via this portal. Emails sent to recruitment, ARCP, Revalidation and specialty mailboxes will no longer be responded to; instead, resident doctors will be directed to submit a ticket via the Freshdesk portal. The only exception is the Professional Support and Wellbeing Service, which continues to be contacted via the PSW Midlands inbox: england.psw.mid@nhs.net
The system includes a range of frequently asked questions that can be reviewed before submitting an enquiry. These are updated regularly to ensure they provide accurate and up-to-date information. The search function enables queries to be entered and directs users to the most relevant FAQ.
It is advisable for resident doctors to create an account to ensure all submitted tickets are stored in one place and easily accessible throughout the training programme. All queries should be submitted via Freshdesk, where they will be reviewed by a member of the relevant team and responded to as soon as possible. This provides a clear and consistent route for contacting the appropriate teams, helping to support a positive experience and reduce uncertainty about where to direct queries.
Foundation School contacts
Head of School: Melanie Field
Postgraduate Dean: Professor Andy Whallett
Deputy FSD: Mihaela Chirita