BOLTON has come out on top in the North West for helping to train up the next generation of doctors.

The Royal Bolton Hospital received a seal of approval from NHS training body Health Education England (HEE) North West.

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust scored highly for the effectiveness of its training of foundation doctors.

Out of 21 trusts in the North West and Mersey, Bolton came top for its learning environment; developing and implementing curricula and assessments; and joint top for educational governance.

It was also joint second for supporting learners and joint third for supporting educators.

Dr Mayen Egbe, consultant physician and director of medical education at Bolton, said: “The training programme we have for junior doctors is something we are really proud of and our consultants are highly committed to it.

“It means we can recruit the best juniors, and they in turn give high quality care to our patients.”

At any one time, Bolton has at least 78 trainee foundation doctors who spend the two years after medical school undertaking six four-month placements in a variety of specialties.

Trainees from across several different departments at the hospital, including anaesthetics, cardiology, emergency medicine, gastroenterology and psychiatry, gave the hospital a thumbs up for training.

Comments from trainees included praise for the support received from senior doctors and supportive and fun training environment.

Trusts are evaluated annually by the HEE according to General Medical Council standards on medical education.

Bolton had to provide evidence on five different themes to show it was meeting standards.

The report and supporting evidence was then scored by the Quality Team at HEE North West.

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