General Psychiatry

Programme description

GMC Reference: WOS/512

This regional programme is the largest in the Scotland Deanery with 31 trainee places in the programme. It covers a wide geographical area allowing experience in urban, semi-rural and rural settings. In addition to core general adult placements (a combination of inpatient, outpatient and community-based work) there are an extensive number of more specialised placements. These include: Early Intervention Services for Psychosis; Liaison Psychiatry; Substance use Psychiatry; Perinatal Psychiatry; Rehabilitation and Eating Disorders.

The Deanery is committed to creating a workforce that meets the needs of Scotland’s population and as such training programmes will reflect that with a variety of permutations across the range of West of Scotland Health boards.  

During their three years (WTE)trainees will undertake placements lasting for one year in a number of different settings. At least one year would be in a more rural setting in either NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Lanarkshire or NHS Dumfries and Galloway.

Within the programme, there will be one post where the trainee will spend the full 3 years in NHS Lanarkshire. NHS Lanarkshire is the third largest health board in Scotland and offers a mix of rural and urban population. In this rotation the trainee will have access to both core general adult placements and a range of more specialised placements including all three subspecialty endorsement posts ( Liaison, Substance Use and Rehabilitation).

Prior to starting on the scheme, and before each change of placement, trainees will meet with the Training Programme Director to discuss the most appropriate post for their needs. This decision is based on the training requirements of the individual trainee as well as available placements and if possible, trainee preference is taken into account. The scheme aims to provide experience in all the areas covered by the college curriculum and to ensure that all the HLOs are met by the end of training. As well as clinical experience trainees will be expected to gain competencies in teaching, research, audit and management skills. There is also an increasing recognition of the importance of developing appropriate experience of psychotherapeutic techniques relevant to general adult psychiatry. There are extensive opportunities for all these activities under specialist supervision.

An advanced trainee research committee helps with facilitating trainee involvement in local research. Currently a research matching scheme operates for trainees starting in ST4.  After presentations of active research projects by clinical researchers at the start of ST4, trainees are matched to a research project of their choosing with support from the researcher and research department. Trainees are then encouraged to develop research projects in subsequent years with appropriate support.

Teaching opportunities are available at both undergraduate and postgraduate level (local medical student teaching, involvement in the undergraduate curriculum at University of Glasgow University, teaching on the local MRCPsych course, etc.) as well as to other professions. Trainees are also encouraged to attend the University of Glasgow Academic Series in Psychiatry (UGASP) which is a lecture based academic and clinical programme for all psychiatrists in the region.

Advanced trainees in General Psychiatry attend a Thursday morning teaching session every fortnight during term time at which they will also develop presentational skills (clinical cases, research, audit projects etc.). There are also external speakers covering issues of more general interest. On the alternate Thursdays trainees will attend the local internal teaching sessions at each hospital site.

The West of Scotland advanced training programme in General Adult Psychiatry has an excellent reputation and has consistently achieved high levels of satisfaction from Trainees in the GMC’s annual national training survey. The Scottish Deanery ranked second for the Higher General Adult Programme in 2024 NTS.  Those gaining a CCT from the programme have a history of favorable consultant job prospects. The high standard of the training programme is evidenced by results from recent GMC trainee surveys which continue to show the West of Scotland in a very positive light compared with the rest of the UK.

Further advantages of training in general adult psychiatry in the West of Scotland include the well-developed generic skills courses available from the Deanery and the support and camaraderie generated by having a large cohort of higher trainees.

Research, audit, teaching and management opportunities

The openings for research in the West of Scotland are vast and there is support for starting a novel research project from scratch as well as frequent opportunities to join ongoing studies. The West of Scotland and the University of Glasgow has a proven track record for research in neuroimaging, neurobiology and CBT and clinical research.  The research coordinator links and supports trainees in their research interests .  A research matching initiative has been underway for the past 5 years and is well established.  After presentations of active research projects by clinical researchers at the start of ST4, trainees are matched to a research project of their choosing with support and supervision from the researcher and research department. Trainees are then encouraged to develop research projects in subsequent years with appropriate support. 

An annual audit or Quality Improvement Project is encouraged and expected from higher trainees. In terms of teaching, higher trainees are encouraged to participate in the lecture series for medical students at Glasgow University and for core trainees attending the MRCPsych course.

There is a well-developed teaching programme for higher trainees in general adult psychiatry in the West of Scotland. This follows the academic calendar and is held on a fortnightly basis. The programme includes guest lecturers presenting on topics that are relevant for higher trainees and presentations by trainees themselves. In addition, higher trainees attend the University of Glasgow Academic Series in Psychiatry (UGASP) which is a lecture based academic and clinical programme for all psychiatrists in the region. The West of Scotland higher training programme in General Adult Psychiatry has an excellent reputation and those gaining a CCT from the programme have a history of favorable consultant job prospects.  The standard of the training programme is evidenced by the results of the GMC trainee survey which consistently shows the West of Scotland in a very positive light compared with the rest of the UK.  Leverndale hospital was awarded the William Cullen award for Teaching by the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh in 2017.

Further advantages of training in general adult psychiatry in the West of Scotland include the well-developed generic skills courses available from the Deanery and the support and camaraderie generated by having a large cohort of higher trainees.

Where the training is delivered?

• Argyll and Bute Hospital, Lochgilphead
• Dykebar Hospital, Paisley
• Forth Valley Royal Hospital - FVRH
• University Hospital Hairmyres, East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire
• Inverclyde Royal Hospital, Greenock
• Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow
• University Hospital Wishaw
• Mid-Argyle Community Hospital, Argyle
• Leverndale Hospital
• Gartnavel Royal Hospital, Glasgow

Training is delivered across following Health Board areas ; NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway.

Hospitals below and their associated CMHTs :

• Woodlands View (Ayrshire)
• Dykebar Hospital (Paisley)
• Inverclyde Royal Hospital (Greenock)
• Gartnavel Royal Hospital (Glasgow)
• Leverndale Hospital (Glasgow)
• Stobhill Hospital (Glasgow)
• Forth Valley Royal Hospital
• Hairmyers Hospital (Lanarkshire)
• Wishaw Hospital (Lanarkshire)
• Midpark Hospital (Dumfries and Galloway)

Contacts and useful links

Information
Programme type (Deanery or National):	Deanery
Administration office:	West
Lead Dean / Director:	Dr Nitin Gambhir
Responsible Associate Postgraduate Dean or Assistant Director (GP):	Dr Rekha Hegde
Specialty or Sub-specialty:	Specialty
Date of GMC recent approval:	Aug 2010
Associated Royal College - Faculty:	Royal College of Psychiatrists
Curriculum and associated assessment system:	http://www.gmc-uk.org/education/postgraduate/general_psychiatry.asp
Programme administrator:	Name: Lynda Service Address: NHS Education for Scotland Forest Grove House Foresterhill Road Aberdeen AB25 2ZP Tel: 01224 805132 Email: lynda.service@nhs.scot
Programme director(s):	Name: Lisa Conway Email: lisa.conway@nhs.scot
Quality of training:	Quality Management

How to apply

This page was last updated on: 25.02.2025 at 15.06