To make a request for a Medical Observership, you will need to liaise with the Consultant you are interested in visiting directly. It is at their discretion if they are happy to support your request and host you.
If they agree in principle to host and supervise you, they will assist you in completing the necessary request form for the Medical Observership. Read more about clinical services at LTHT.
If you do not hear back from your chosen Consultant or CSU team within 4 weeks, please assume your application has not been successful. We have an 8 week minimum lead time so would advise you to apply early, to allow time to carry out all the necessary checks. You will be unable start your Observership until all these checks are complete.
The administrative fee for processing a Medical Observership request is £350. This is payable in advance and this fee is non-refundable.
The fee should be paid after the request form has been submitted, along with your supporting documentation. We will supply you with the appropriate information on the various ways to pay this fee at that time. You can pay by cash, Credit/Debit card or bank transfer.
Please note, this fee is a mandatory requirement and cannot be waived. If for any reason you do not attend, the administrative fee will not be refunded.
IMPORTANT NOTE: if the administrative fee is made via bank transfer, your bank may apply a charge therefore you will be required to pay the difference to LTHT.
If all checks have already been completed, but you need to delay your start date for any reason, we must be informed in writing via email asap for review.
If the hosting team are happy to support a later date, they will need to confirm this to us in writing via email. However, you must start the Medical Observership within 6 months of all checks being completed. Otherwise, we will withdraw the offer and no refund will be made.
Should you choose to start the process again after 6 months, you will be required to pay the £350 administrative fee again.
Yes, the £350 admin fee is still applicable.
We request an 8 week lead time to prepare everything ready for an Observership to start. This is a guide only and will vary depending on your personal circumstances.
The maximum total duration without gaps is 12 weeks and this cannot be extended.
Medical Observership for under 12 weeks can be extended so long as the total duration does not exceed 12 weeks, there is no break in placements, and you remain within the same CSU.
Timeline
- Once you have the agreement in principle with the Consultant, the LTHT hosting team will be able to complete the Medical Observership request forms.
- They will request supporting documentation from you and obtain the necessary authorisations from their Senior Team.
- They will submit these to our team, and we will send you information on how to pay the admin fee.
After the fee has been received by LTHT, we will start to progress your request and begin checks.
- Right to work check & Visas
We will perform a right to work check to determine whether you have the legal right and permission to work in the UK. We will need to see your original documents and cannot accept photocopies. Please note, we cannot accept visas in an expired passport for right to work. You must transfer this to a valid passport.
We cannot advise you on which visa to obtain. It is your responsibility ensure you have the correct visa. You can find further information on visas on the GOV.UK website.
- If you require a visa support letter to enable you to apply for a suitable Visa to participate in the Medical Observership, we can only issue these after all other checks have been completed satisfactorily. This does not guarantee that a visa will be granted.
- We advise you not to book any flights or accommodation until you are in possession of your visa for your visit.
Pre-employment checks seek to verify that an individual meets the preconditions of the role they are doing. LTHT must ensure all pre-employment checks are carried out in accordance with NHS Employers guidelines. This includes Observerships.
- Right to work check
You will need to provide a copy of your passport demonstrating right of entry into the UK. If you require a visa to enter the UK, you will need to provide this before you can start. You must ensure you have the correct visa for your personal circumstances. Please refer to the GOV.UK website for further advice.
- Identity checks
You will need to provide a document to verify your ID, such as a passport, driving licence or bank statement.
- References & CV
You will need to provide a suitable reference from your current or last employer. You will need to arrange this in advance of submitting your Observership application. References cannot be from a family member. A recent copy of your CV will also be required.
- Criminal Records Check
If you have lived outside of the UK for more than 6 months in the last 5 years, you will be asked to provide a recent Certificate of Good Standing (CoGS), also known as a Police Certificate. If you have lived in multiple different countries in the last 5 years, you will be asked to provide one from each country. The local police force in that country will be able to provide them for you.
All certificates must be in date and are only valid for a maximum of 6 months from the issue date. We cannot accept a medical CoGS from the hospital where you currently work in lieu of a Police Certificate. The CoGS must & be translated and notarised, if not issued in English. For further guidance on how to obtain a CoGS/Police Clearance Certificate, please visit the gov.uk website.
- Occupational Health Clearance
You will require an Occupational Health Clearance certificate from LTHT and may need to provide proof of your immunisations history to support this. We will provide you with a suitable OH form to complete during the pre-employment check stage.
- English Language
There is no English language requirement to take up a Medical Observership with LTHT, but for you to benefit as much as possible from your Observership, a good knowledge of English is advisable.
All supporting documents must first be supplied to your LTHT hosting team/ supervising Consultant, to aid them in completing the Medical Observership application request form. They will submit copies of your documents to us, along with your application for review. The preferred format is via Word document.
Please do not password protect these documents, as this can lead to delays in processing your request. Preferably, please do not send all your documents within one PDF or sideways orientations. This will help with ease of processing.
After the admin fee has been paid, there will be several checks that need to be completed, including an LTHT Occupational Health clearance. When all checks have been completed remotely, you will be asked to attend a face-to-face appointment to bring all your original supporting documents. This must be done on or before your first day. You can only start your Observership after this appointment & after the Honorary Contracts Team have confirmed to your hosting team that you can start.
Accommodation is not included so you will need to make your own arrangements. If you have any difficulties arranging this, you can contact the Residences team who may be able to assist you – [email protected]