Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear

NHS Foundation Trust

Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW) is one of the largest mental health and disability trusts in England and is rated as outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

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Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Hospital Sites

1. St Nicholas, Newcastle upon Tyne

2. St George’s Park, Morpeth, Northumberland

3. Northgate, Morpeth, Northumberland

4. Ferndene,Prudhoe, Northumberland

5. Walkergate Park, Newcastle upon Tyne,

6. Hopewood Park, Sunderland

7. Monkwearmouth, Sunderland

8. Carleton Clinic, Carlisle

“I did my core training in the North East and think it’s a great place to live and train. It was an obvious choice when it was time to choose where to undertake my higher training.”

Welcome
to Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear

We work from more than 70 sites across Cumbria, Northumberland, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland. We provide mental health, learning disability and neurological care for people across the north of England. We have a number of regional and national specialist care services. Along with partners, we deliver support to people in their own homes, and from community and hospital-based premises. We have around 9,000 people working for us. We have been rated as Outstanding by the CQC.

​We have well established links with local universities and colleges, including Newcastle University, University of Northumbria, Sunderland University and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), with a number of joint academic posts.

Our Vision

Our vision is to work together, with compassion and care, to keep you well over the whole of your life.

Our Strategic Ambitions

  • Quality care, every day.
  • A great place to work.
  • Person-led care, when and where it is needed.
  • Sustainable for the long term, innovating every day.
  • Working with and for our communities.

​The trust has many award winning services and facilities, these include:

  • ​Positive Practice in Mental Health award.
  • Winner and highly commended for the Improving Care for People in Crisis award (Initial Response Team).
  • National Personal Safety award.
  • Better Health at Work award.
  • HSJ award Winner for Healthcare Leaders.

We were also recognised at the BMA Patient Information awards for our self help guides and received a Nursing Times award for the Trust’s new purpose-built dementia centre.

Our services are organised into three care groups – community, inpatient and specialist. The groups cover a range of inpatient settings, assessment and treatment units, forensic and specialist services, community based treatment and services for children and young people.

Working with Us
We recognise that the people who work for us are our greatest asset, and when you feel supported and happy at work this positively reaches the people we are here for – our service users.

In August 2016 we were rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, one of the first mental health Trusts in the country to achieve this. In 2018 and 2023 we were again awarded an Outstanding rating.

 

Why Choose Psychiatry?

As a psychiatrist you will have a huge positive impact on the lives of your patients and their carers. You will face new and interesting challenges every day, but always be able to face them with the support of your doctor colleagues and team around you.

You will always be learning as your medical, scientific knowledge and skills will constantly grow. You can work in a range of settings, from hospitals to people’s homes, anywhere in the world. As you progress through your career, you have more opportunity to shape the way you work; you can work part time or full time and can combine your career with a wide range of other interests.

Psychiatry training programmes offer:

  • Full range of training opportunities across all psychiatric specialities including a simulation training programme.
  • Excellent and consistently delivered protected time for training.
  • Support to prepare for MRCPsych examinations.
  • Specialist training with an early focus on clinical and communication skills.
  • High rates of CASC exam success.
  • Structured support for research in higher training.
  • Dedicated support and training programme for doctors new to working in the UK.

For further information, please visit the Royal College of Psychiatrists website – Choose Psychiatry

We have an international reputation for training, research and innovations with centres of excellence such as the regional affective disorders service, pervasive developmental service, psychotherapy service, neuropsychiatry service and the Centre for the Health of the Elderly.

Psychiatry training
with Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear

Psychiatric Specialties and Centres of Excellence
We offer a range of opportunities for trainees across all the psychiatric specialties including old age, CAMHS, learning disability, forensic psychiatry, psychotherapy and adult psychiatry. This also includes specific experience in liaison psychiatry, perinatal psychiatry, neuropsychiatry, alcohol and substance abuse, eating disorders, early intervention, assertive outreach, crisis teams, academic psychiatry, tertiary affective disorders and PICU work.

Our core scheme placements rotate every six months and higher placements once a year.

Within our trust we are proud of our centres of excellence which include:

  • nationally recognised academic affective disorder service in Newcastle.
  • centre of excellence in dementia research and clinical care in Newcastle.
  • specialist mother and baby service in Northumberland.
  • academic clinical service in autism.
  • specialist psychotherapy services, with national leads in CBT both in psychosis and trauma.
  • specialist forensic services in Northumberland.

Trainee Development Programme for Core Psychiatry Trainees

This is a tailored programme of courses to complement other forms of CPD for trainees at different stages of core psychiatry training. Some sessions are linked to particular learning outcomes in the curriculum, others relate to a number of outcomes and broader areas of training. Courses provide developmental experience in a safe environment for topics such as communication skills, emergencies and advanced emergencies in psychiatry, mock CASC exams, as well as supporting trainees with reflective practice, staying well in training, EDI and RC Psych portfolio.

Trainee Development Programme for Higher Psychiatry Trainees

This is a tailored programme of courses for trainees at different stages of higher psychiatry training, for example, mental health report writing and simulated mental health tribunal, Mental Health Act supervision group, Balint group, higher trainee frameworks for teaching and research, and preparation for applying for consultant posts. Higher psychiatry trainees can also attend courses on CNTW’s Faculty Development Programme which help them to prepare for their role as a trainer once they become a consultant.

Simulation Facilities

Our trainees have access to first-class, state-of-the-art, dedicated simulation based training facilities allowing us to support trainee development via courses on the Trainee Development Programmes.

Teaching Opportunities

Our core and higher psychiatry trainees have opportunities to teach medical students as well as new resident doctors on induction day and at local inductions, and as part of their weekly local postgraduate teaching.

Supervision

Core and higher trainees receive one hour weekly supervision with their consultant supervisor in their clinical post. Core psychiatry trainees are also allocated an educational supervisor for the duration of their three year training programme.

Flexibility
We offer real opportunities to build a flexible and rewarding career. For example, there are opportunities for flexible training arrangements which allow you to manage your training and career while being able to factor in family needs. These flexibilities make psychiatry at our trust very appealing as a career choice for many women as well as men interested in flexible (part-time) work.

CNTW has consistently been in the top 10% of trusts nationally for the GMC Trainee Survey over the last ten years, and the top 5% of trusts nationally for the GMC Trainer Survey since this survey started.

 

GMC Surveys

In recent years, CNTW has ranked as follows:

  • GMC Trainee Survey regularly ranks CNTW in the top 10% of trusts nationally over last 3 years (2022, 2023, 2024)
  • GMC Trainer Survey regularly ranks CNTW in the top 5% of trusts nationally over last 3 years (2022, 2023, 2024)

For more information on psychiatry training in CNTW, please email [email protected]

What our trainees say:

Luwai Odeh

“I am currently a trainee in Sunderland. I love the North East and I would encourage people to come here to do their training. The North East is one of the most welcoming places in the UK that I have ever been to.”

Kalpasree Bhowmik

“I am an international medical graduate and now a Core Psychiatry trainee in HENE. As a trainee, I feel valued and supported. The CNTW hospital trust offers plenty of learning opportunities. North east is definitely picturesque and lots of things to see and do! People are friendly. One can enjoy and get trained at the same time.”

Tom Lewis

“Since graduating in medicine, I have been able to buy my own property and my daily commute is either a 5 minute walk or a 15 minute car journey depending on the hospital I am working in that day. I began core training in Psychiatry in 2014 and began specialising in Old Age Psychiatry in 2017. CNTW has been an excellent employer that I have always felt listens to the concerns of trainees and aims to do its best to help”