Deanery (NHS)
Encyclopedia
An NHS Deanery is a regional organisation, within the structure of the UK National Health Service
(NHS), responsible for postgraduate medical and dental training. it appears that deaneries are regarded under UK law as employment agencies, and so are subject to the appropriate UK law.
and Dental
Councils and the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board
. Deaneries are each advised by a Specialty Training Committee (STC), which includes Consultants
.
Effectively, Deaneries work as clearing houses for Specialist Registrar
(SpR) training posts in hospital
s, dentistry
, mental health
, public health
and primary care
. Specialists in the various medical disciplines within Deaneries keep track of training vacancies that arise within the NHS institutions in their Deanery's area. Typically there will be an Associate Dean and a Medical Workforce Officer for each discipline or group of disciplines. The Deanery will advertise for applications by Senior House Officer
s or Academic Clinical Fellows for available SpR posts and will interview applicants on behalf of the institutions. As the new initiative Modernising Medical Careers
takes effect, candidates will be those who have completed specialist training in the new system.
Successful applicants can receive a National Training Number (NTN), which follows them through the system over six years training, covering training costs in whichever NHS posts they occupy. Others may receive a Locum Training Number, which covers training only for one posting; however, recipients remain eligible to apply for an NTN.
As of June 2008, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate
have ruled that deaneries should be legally classified as employment agencies, which calls into question the legality of existing recruitment processes. This has led Remedy UK
to call for junior doctors, who are currently employed on a series of short-term contracts, to be given a single unified contract covering the whole process.
. This is likely over the medium term to change the make-up of the hospital registrar workforce, in which over recent years candidates from developing countries in Asia and Africa have been strongly represented.
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
(NHS), responsible for postgraduate medical and dental training. it appears that deaneries are regarded under UK law as employment agencies, and so are subject to the appropriate UK law.
Role
Each Deanery commissions postgraduate medical and dental education, to standards set by the General MedicalGeneral Medical Council
The General Medical Council registers and regulates doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It has the power to revoke or restrict a doctor's registration if it deems them unfit to practise...
and Dental
General Dental Council
The General Dental Council is a United Kingdom organisation which regulates all dental professionals in the country. Established in 1956 by an amendment to the Dentists Act 1948, now updated in the Dentists Act 1984, it keeps an up-to-date register of all qualified dentists and other dental care...
Councils and the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board
Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board
The Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board was the non-departmental public body responsible for postgraduate medical education and training in the United Kingdom . PMETB is no longer in operation, following its merger with the General Medical Council on 1 April 2010...
. Deaneries are each advised by a Specialty Training Committee (STC), which includes Consultants
Consultant (medicine)
In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and parts of the Commonwealth, consultant is the title of a senior doctor who has completed all of his or her specialist training and been placed on the specialist register in their chosen specialty...
.
Effectively, Deaneries work as clearing houses for Specialist Registrar
Specialist registrar
A Specialist Registrar or SpR is a doctor in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland who is receiving advanced training in a specialist field of medicine in order eventually to become a consultant...
(SpR) training posts in hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
s, dentistry
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
, mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
, public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
and primary care
Primary care
Primary care is the term for the health services by providers who act as the principal point of consultation for patients within a health care system...
. Specialists in the various medical disciplines within Deaneries keep track of training vacancies that arise within the NHS institutions in their Deanery's area. Typically there will be an Associate Dean and a Medical Workforce Officer for each discipline or group of disciplines. The Deanery will advertise for applications by Senior House Officer
Senior house officer
A senior house officer is a junior doctor undergoing training within a certain speciality in the British National Health Service or in the Republic of Ireland. SHOs are supervised by consultants and registrars, who oversee their training and are their designated clinical supervisors...
s or Academic Clinical Fellows for available SpR posts and will interview applicants on behalf of the institutions. As the new initiative Modernising Medical Careers
Modernising Medical Careers
Modernising Medical Careers is a programme for postgraduate medical training introduced in the UK from 2005 onwards. The programme replaced the traditional grades of medical career before the level of Consultant. The different stages of the programme contribute towards a "Certificate of...
takes effect, candidates will be those who have completed specialist training in the new system.
Successful applicants can receive a National Training Number (NTN), which follows them through the system over six years training, covering training costs in whichever NHS posts they occupy. Others may receive a Locum Training Number, which covers training only for one posting; however, recipients remain eligible to apply for an NTN.
Criticisms
Deaneries have been criticised in the past for not providing accurate and detailed information to applicants who have no alternative methods of finding employment within the UK, in particular for failing reliably to tell applicants exactly when and where jobs will start, what hours will be, and what their salary will be. The BMA have observed "It's hard to imagine another profession where you could start salaried employment without knowing how much you'll be paid in six months' time. That's been the reality for junior doctors for years, but it may be about to change."As of June 2008, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate
Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate
The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate is a division of the Employment Relations Directorate, part of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, which is meant to oversee employment agencies operating in the United Kingdom...
have ruled that deaneries should be legally classified as employment agencies, which calls into question the legality of existing recruitment processes. This has led Remedy UK
Remedy UK
Remedy UK is a pressure group representing junior doctors in the United Kingdom. The organisation was set up by four junior doctors in 2007 to campaign against UK government-led medical training reforms known as Modernising Medical Careers and their implementation through the Medical Training...
to call for junior doctors, who are currently employed on a series of short-term contracts, to be given a single unified contract covering the whole process.
EU applicants
Recent changes in UK legislation mean that Deaneries must give preference to applicants from the UK or the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. This is likely over the medium term to change the make-up of the hospital registrar workforce, in which over recent years candidates from developing countries in Asia and Africa have been strongly represented.