CQC Inspection
The West Suffolk Hospital is run by West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. West Suffolk Hospital has around 430 beds and provides acute hospital services to the people of the area of Bury St Edmunds and West Suffolk. The hospital was inspected in November 2017 and the full report can be viewed here.

Overall the hospital was rated as ‘outstanding’ (on a four-point rating scale, from ‘inadequate’ to ‘outstanding’). Key findings were:

Medicine & Palliative care were rated as ‘outstanding’.
All other areas of the hospital were rated as ‘good’.

In 2017, West Suffolk Hospital received the best staff feedback nationally, in the NHS Staff Survey.

GMC Survey
Full summary is on the way!

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We have updated our review to take into account the CQC rating. Have we got this right? Leave your own review and let us know!
4 years ago
Anonymous

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

West Suffolk is known within the region as a great place to train for anaesthetics. There is an enthusiastic, supportive and experienced consultant faculty. You are given a lot of teaching, supervision and support: you don’t start nights within 3 months of starting anaesthetics – here they wait until you’re comfortable (currently anaesthetic nights are only after you’re comfortable with obstetric anaesthesia – generally as a CT2+ and only after shadowing the obs rota for 3 months).

There are good regular weekly teaching sessions: 12 week novice course to match with the IAC (initial assessment of competence), then weekly sessions to help you pass primary FRCA. Study leave to attend regional teaching is normally easy to arrange as long as you’re not on call that day.

Anaesthetics, registrars and fellow trainees (and colleagues – ODPs and secretaries ) are friendly, approachable and good to work with. The main theatre ODPs in particular are generally excellent – skillful, knowledgeable and very supportive during your novice period and really help you settle in.

Only mild fly in the ointment is that the ICU rota covered as part of the training has recently had gaps and this can cause problems while on the ICU block. The ICU is small (9 beds) and tends not to be too busy so this can still be manageable but may make swapping on calls difficult (e.g. if you need to take particular days off for holidays).

I’d certainly recommend West Suffolk as a hospital for trainee anaesthetists.
4 years ago
Anonymous

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

Interesting casemix and opportunities to admit and assess complex cases. Busy admissions shifts and high patient turnover on wards.

Shift pattern meant very little continuity of medical experience and professional relationships, causing low job satisfaction among colleagues. Poor attendance at teaching and little practical support to facilitate protected attendance by CMTs.
4 years ago
Peter

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

Small hospital. Good community feel. Pretty solid F2 program so far!
4 years ago
Adam

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

As an orthopaedic registrar I had a fabulous time here. Great team, efficient MDT and excellent training and support. They deserve their award for orthopaedic training hospital of the year in East Anglia.
3 years ago
Anon

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

Good induction week for new F1s. Really nice hospital to work at.
3 years ago
Jack

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

Very friendly place to work, interesting cases given size of the hospital. A good place to start work as an FY doctor. Would particularly recommend ED, ENT and geriatric teams.
3 years ago
FY2 Doctor

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

Really enjoyed my 2 years foundation training at the West Suffolk. Very supportive senior team and a fun, friendly working environment. I was always made to feel like a valued member of staff. The organised teaching programme was a bit hit and miss however the teaching from consultants on the wards was very good and they mostly seemed keen to teach. I also had lots of opportunity to get involved with quality improvement projects and also the teaching of medical students. I hope to work here again.
3 years ago
FY2 Doctor

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

Friendly hospital with good ethos and support. Has been a fun place to work, I’ll miss it!
3 years ago
Joseph Masters

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

Great induction for new FY1s. Really feel welcomed onto the team here and well supported on the wards.

We’ve been sent our rotas well in advance, had lots of flexibility with annual leave, encouraged to exception report where possible and actively encouraged not to work longer than our contracted hours!

On the wards everyone has been extremely friendly and although we are still just settling in, there has already been plenty of teaching and opportunity for learning!
3 years ago
Anonymous T

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

Working in Paediatrics at WSH has been great, especially in terms of feeling part of a wonderful team and seeing plenty of pathology. The training on the job is what you make of it, as is the case in any job, the more opportunities you make for yourself- the more you will learn. Everyone- from the domestic team to the ward clerks, nurses, secretaries, outpatients, and all the doctors have contributed to a memorable time here at WSH Paediatrics, many thanks.
3 years ago
Anon

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

Good induction week for new F1s. Really nice hospital to work at!
3 years ago
Junior doctor

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

Really nice and supportive hospital. Strongly recommended to the other junior doctors as well!
2 years ago
Ellie

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

I have really enjoyed my year as an FY1 at West Suffolk Hospital. Having been a student in the region I had already visited many of the the hospitals as a student and West Suffolk always had an excellent reputation.

It is quite a small hospital which I have really liked as it means you know most of the staff. People are extremely friendly always saying hello in the corridors, and I have found all the consultants I have worked under to be supportive (geriatrics, gen med/endocrine, gen surg/urology). I have also found the training leads to be approachable, and we have be actively encouraged to exception report if working beyond out hours.

As it is a DGH you get good experience treating common conditions, but I have also seen a number of rare and interesting cases and the consultants have been good at teaching. You also get a fair amount of independence, often running your own wards rounds, but knowing there is also support if you need it.

The mess here is active, there are mess outings at least once a month and the cupboards are always stocked.

It isn’t perfect, the FY1 medical on calls can be very busy, as can the FY1 surgical on calls and nights. The FY1 teaching has been of mixed use, some of it has been amazing and some less so.

However on balance I would definitely recommend working here as an FY1. You cannot find a friendly place to start as an FY1 and I am looking forward to continuing my training here as an FY2.
2 years ago
Anonymous

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

I have very much enjoyed my FY1 training here- I have felt well supported and would not hesitate to recommend training here.
2 years ago
Asma

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

Working at WSH have been an amazing experience. The medical and nursing staff in the Paediatric Department are very dedicated and very supportive of trainees. One area of improvement maybe is that it is a very busy hospital and sometimes service providing can impede learning opportunities. This said, I would happily come back to train there !
2 years ago
Anonanon

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

Good DGH.
Well staffed in some areas, not so well staffed in other areas.
Relatively friendly.
HR are top notch and sort things out promptly.
I always got paid correctly and on time so cant complain really.
2 years ago
Johanna Selway

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

I returned to WSH having spent my foundation years here to do anaesthetics as I had first hand experience of the exceptional teaching, predominantly consultant led on a 1:1 basis, that novice Anaesthetists receive. West Suffolk did not disappoint. The intensive care and anaesthetic department are a true credit to the organization.

Outside of my department, I am pleased that the hospital is now listening to its junior doctors and actively encouraging exception reporting without barriers to it.

I only hope they will continue to listen and we see on the ground changes made following our concerns regarding the increasing rota gaps particularly in the ED and in medicine.

The mess is also one of the biggest downsides at the moment with it currently having been condemned as inhabitable. Our new guardian of safe working is on the case and I look forward however to hearing that the new revamped model with hot food available over night for juniors, will confirm the West Suffolk’s well deserved placing as the leading hospital to work for in the East of England.
2 years ago
E

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

Working in WSH has been a great pleasure, though quite challenging at times.
I want to say a very big thank you for all the support and teaching opportunities!
2 years ago
Anna

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

I have been at the West Suffolk hospital for 4 years.
I did both my foundation years and my GP training here.
Some people might think it strange that I stayed at a DGH for so
long but I honestly couldn’t recommend it more.
The atmosphere is friendly and welcoming in every department.
Of course service provision can be taxing and sometimes hinders learning opportunities but this is something we experience at every hospital these days.
There is a supportive environment for juniors and we are a valued part of the hospital community.
I have worked in most departments during my time here and they have all been supportive in helping me progress from foundation to speciality training.
The only downside is that I have finally had to leave!
Don’t think about working here, just do it! I promise you won’t regret it.
2 years ago
Alex

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

Really lovely friendly and supportive place to work! Almost everyone is helpful and would do their best to make sure you get as much training as possible.
Have completed foundation years and GPVTS hospital posts here and considering coming back for some locums while finishing GP. It’s small enough to know everyone and make the team closer.
Would strongly recommend WSH for GP training – the program is super supportive and they genuinely will do everything to encourage and support you. Plus tea and cake in abundance!
2 years ago
Anonymous

Overall rating

Teaching & training

Working here

Surprised to see so many F1/F2s not recommending WSH on the above graph, because this hospital must be one of the most well supported places to be a foundation trainee in the UK. I’ve generally enjoyed working here, there’s a nice friendly atmosphere in the hospital and I think the quality of care is generally good as a result.

CMT-specific stuff…
Pros: as above, generally good consultant support, interesting and varied acute take, opportunities to take responsibility, consultant-led feedback on management plans, all overnight patients get presented at handover so it’s possible to complete the elusive ACATs, friendly place to work, opportunities to do core procedures
Cons: no time is allocated for attending clinics, and depending which ward you are on, it can be very hard to meet the requirements. This was brought up locally and we were ‘informally’ advised to either come in on days off or use annual leave to meet clinic numbers… some people did end up having to do this, which is pretty miserable. Also the way the rota works out you can physically attend less than half of all CMT teaching – which is generally good when you go, so it’s a bit of a shame.

Rota/admin-wise…
The rota has slightly unpleasant tight day-night turn arounds – finish Monday am back on Weds am for instance – and no blocks of zero days to rest around night shifts, so can feel a bit relentless. On-calls are usually one day a week so you end up on call during most weeks – can be hard to take leave without swaps. If you’re running out of time to take leave or the wards are short, they do genuinely try to get locums rather than just accepting short staffing, which is refreshing. In terms of the take there are only 2 medical SHOs on at night – one clerking, one for wards. Like all places it’s variable – sometimes quieter, but when it’s busy it can feel very busy overnight, as it’s only one person on each. If you’re planning to re-claim mileage from commuting, prepare yourself psychologically to use Greyfleet, the most bureaucratic and painfully unnecessary reclaim system ever devised by mankind. Surprisingly for an otherwise supportive hospital, there is no compassionate leave at WSH if you experience a bereavement.

Overall I think this is a good place to work, with the opportunity to build general medical experience and make some decisions in a supportive environment – especially as a contrast to the rest of CMT, which is generally spent at tertiary centres like Addenbrookes & Papworth, where you don’t get quite so many opportunities to do practice doing the basics yourself.
2 years ago

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