LTFT Frequently asked questions

 

This is an arrangement that allows doctors to train in their specialty, when they would be prohibited from doing so on a full time basis, due to well-founded personal reasons. It allows the creation of a post that balances the educational needs of the trainee with the service needs of the employer.
 

This is an entitlement open to all NHS employers with 26 weeks employment who have caring responsibilities. The employer has to treat all such requests reasonably, but their main concern needs to be the service and not your education needs as a trainee.
 

Normally, as a LTFT trainee you will work 50% or 60% or 80% of the working week. Daytime working, on-call and out of hours will be undertaken on a basis pro rata to full-time trainees in the same specialty and grade. Your programme should contain the same elements as that of a full-time trainee including departmental meetings, audit, research, teaching, etc. The duration of training (e.g. until CCT date) will be extended according to the number of hours worked.

Previously, if you were an LTFT trainee you were not allowed to do any additional paid work. There has been a recent agreement that you can now undertake extra paid work. But this will need to be declared on your Form R at ARCP and guidance sought from your clinical and educational supervisor. Examples of acceptable additional work will include occasional additional shifts due to unexpected circumstances.  

If the equivalent post has on-call duties you will need to do approximately pro-rata the on-call to full-time trainees. If there are health reasons that would prohibit such work, particularly in the case of suggested patterns of work in an occupational health report, you will need to meet with HEEYH faculty (TPD, Head of School, AD or Deputy Dean) to agree a bespoke placement.

Annual and study leave will be calculated on a pro rata basis.
 

As a LTFT trainee you still have to complete all the courses that a full timer has to do in your allotted whole training time, in order to achieve the required Work Placed Based Assessment (WPBA) competencies and other requirements for the specialty. 
 

You need to acquire the same clinical and non-clinical competencies, including psychotherapy competencies, as a FTE colleague over the whole course of your training. This may mean you need to take a larger proportion of your training time in any one calendar year, for you to be able to undertake your short and long case for psychotherapy and supervision in a timely way. 

This would mean that you will need to use proportionally less of a calendar training year for psychotherapy before or after that. This is best discussed with your College Tutor and clarified with your clinical supervisor. 

Yes. The Gold Guide makes clear that trainees who work LTFT should have access to all the same training opportunities as FTE colleagues. This may mean you have to remain in a Higher Training post for more than a calendar year, to obtain 12 months WTE working in that specialty, this may need prior discussion and agreement with your TPD.  
 

Time recouped in lieu of work out of contracted hours is normally possible. For example, if you work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as an LTFT trainee and attend a training day on a Friday, you should be able to claim a day in lieu of study leave. It’s important to seek out local arrangements with your contractual employer on such matters in the first instance, to ensure service continuity, and certainly ahead of any planned work on days that you are not contracted to be in work.

Yes. But this will not be pro rata, but for a total time period of up to 6 calendar months, irrespective of the proportion of FTE that you work. 
 

The incremental date for salary increases is annual. It does not become pro-rata for sessions worked. As with full-timers the incremental date is not affected by time out of training due to maternity leave.
 

As a LTFT trainee you can apply for an Inter-deanery Transfer (IDT) in the same way as any other trainee provided they satisfy the requirements of the national IDT process. However, there is no guarantee that the new host HEE NES, the Wales Deanery or NIMDTA or local office will be able to accommodate LTFT in a slot at the time of transfer.
 

You may at a future date return to full-time training. You will need to apply through your TPD and give 6 months’ notice. You may also need to wait for a full-time vacancy to appear in the programme.
 

You can seek advice for your TPD or College Tutor. In addition, each local education office has a LTFT advisor. We can provide additional advice through the Psychiatric Support Service, and through the Specialty Training email help at psychiatrytraining@rcpsych.ac.uk.