About the School Acute Care Common Stem (ACCS) Programme

This is a 2 year rotation covering acute care specialties, which leads into specialist training in Anaesthesia, Intensive Care, Emergency Medicine or Acute Medicine. Application is by parent specialty and entry into the ST programme is automatic. The Severn Deanery has ACCS programmes in UBHT/Weston, North Bristol, Cheltenham/Gloucester, Bath and Swindon. Most rotations involve 6 mo Acute Medicine, 6 mo Emergency Medicine, and 1 yr Anaesthesia/Intensive Care.

Currently 10 of the 19 entry places for Anaesthesia in Severn are within the ACCS programme, as the extra experience it offers is seen as valuable for all future anaesthetists. For future Intensivists, this is one of the easier ways to get the 6 months Acute Medical experience that is required for Intensive Care training, and is likely to be the main route to Specialty training if / when Intensive Care becomes a separate specialty.

The training and assessment are the same as trainees in Anaesthesia ST1 with the “3 month test of competency”, and SHO competencies for ICU. Formal assessment during each attachment is expected with RITAs at the end of each year to allow progression into the next training year. See ACCS training programme details

For more information: Dr Anne Whaley, Programme Director for ACCS anne.whaley@ubht.nhs.uk