Study Leave

From the 1st April 2018 HEE have centralised Doctors in training study leave budget and process. Please read the letter here.

Study leave course lists have been constructed by each Head of Speciality Schools/Training Programme Directors with oversight and approval of the Post Graduate Deans. You are able to claim for all the mandated and optional courses that are listed against your specialty, with no upper limit on the amount of budget to fund these. These course can be accessed here; there are also some FAQs which you may found very helpful.

https://lasepgmdesupport.hee.nhs.uk/support/home#8:

For a short animation and guide on how to access study budgets please click here www.hee.nhs.uk/study-budget-reforms

Here you can you find more information with regards to the process of study leave and a clear process of applying and what is covered: Click here for study leave recommendations. Click here for the study leave process.

Before you can apply for an optional course, you need to evidence to your educational supervisor that you have completed everything listed on the mandatory section. They then can sign you off for an optional course.

All courses need to be sourced in the local London KSS area ideally, or evidenced as to why it cannot.

If you want to apply for a course that is not on the lists for your specialty, then you need to send your study leave request form to the TPD for them to decide. If they agree when sending your form in to the PGEC, please attach the email which agrees it.

Here you can access the study leave approval form to support this new process. Click here for approval form.

You must complete:

• GMC number
• If the course is on the list of mandated, optional or if you are asking for discretionary leave.
• Please provide details of each expense component that you wish to claim back from HEE
• Meet your ES first to get them to sign off your form. Then ask the rota co-ordinator to sign off, and then of course inform your clinical supervisor out of politeness

Forms must be submitted to the PGEC 6 weeks before the requested study leave, and ideally longer to enable the department to obtain locum cover, if required. Please send the original copy in internal or external mail.

If the form is not fully complete it will be returned to you unapproved by Strategic Medical Education Manager Tina Suttle-Smith. Once it has been approved it will be scanned and sent back to you so that you are aware.

STUDY LEAVE ENTITLEMENT

The study leave limit for number of days available for trainee doctors is set as 15 days per year for FY1 Doctors and 30 days per year for all other Doctors in Training. Attendance at Regional Teaching/Training days will count as up to 20 days of your 30 day allowance, leaving you with 10 days for other approved courses.

A week’s study leave is considered as 7 days, irrespective of on call duties.

Private study leave is available for trainee doctors to take in advance of an exam with a maximum limit of 5 working days per exam. The Study Leave budget cannot be used to fund examination costs.

If you are taking private study leave, on call nights and weekends must be swapped or worked.

GPST1 & GPST2
You can claim up to 30 study leave days, noting that 15 of these days are set aside for HEKSS Study days.

GP Trainees can claim mileage costs for certain journeys, as are laid out in this guidance:

As a GP trainee you can claim mileage if you are on a GP rotation or on a Psychiatry rotation. The rules are as follows.

GPST trainees
The above guidance is only for GPST1 and GPST2. GPST3s will claim all study leave requests direct from HEE.

GPST1/2 on GP rotation
If you are just travelling to the practice and staying there for the whole day before going home, you cannot claim mileage.

If you go to your practice and then have to go on to either a home visit, another NHS location for work (if your practice has multiple locations or you are going to a clinic etc), Out of hours or Training then you can claim for the journey from your practice to the home visits etc. and back again, as well as your mileage from home to your practice and back again to a maximum of 20 miles per day. To clarify, the home to practice section of your journey is limited to 20 miles a day but the practice to home visits etc. and back is not limited.

All GP mileage claims must be verified by the practice manager

Psychiatry rotation:-
GP trainees on a Psychiatry rotation can claim home to patient mileage when they are On Calls only, otherwise they can claim mileage from base (psychiatry rotation centre not PGEC) to patient/course/meeting as part of their daily work.

There is a maximum of 40 miles per journey for home to Patient mileage for On Call GP trainees.

GP Claiming Mileage:-
To register on e-expenses please see further down under e-expense registration.

The organisation number is 326.

GP mileage claims must still be verified by the practice manager.

To do this please print the electronic claim and get your practice manager to print their name at the bottom sign and date it.

Scan this and attach it to your e-expenses claim.

If you wish to claim business miles you will need to bring in to the PGEC your car MOT, driving licence as well as your insurance which evidences that you are covered for BUSINESS travel.

If your base is not at East Surrey Hospital, we are happy to receive a signed copy from a manager to evidence that they have seen the originals, and then you scan a copy to us.

Please ensure that you submit mileage claims every month, you will not be reimbursed for any mileage claims older than a month.

Specialty trainees

Attendance at Regional Teaching/Training days will count as up to 20 days of your 30 day allowance, leaving you with 10 days for other approved courses.

A week’s study leave is considered as 7 days, irrespective of on call duties.

Claiming mileage through the online system

Guidance for claiming mileage through Allocate. Click here for best practice for mileage. Click here for GP mileage.

Guidance for uploading your practice manager approval of the claim. Click here for practice manage approval claim form.

Consultant /Trust grades / Non-training grade study leave application forms

Click here for consultants and senior grade study leave application form.

Click here for non-training grades study leave application form.

Claiming for your study leave

Following attendance you must make a claim on e-Expenses.

PROCESSING YOUR APPLICATION

All study leave requests much be discussed with your clinical/educational supervisor and the rota co-ordinator in the first instance. Study leave will be agreed at the discretion of the service. If you are having difficulty in getting any study leave agreed, please contact the MEM Tina Suttle-Smith [email protected].

Once you have agreement that you can take study leave or private leave, you need to complete an application form, which can be accessed here.

Please complete all the relevant fields, ensuring you have signatures from the rota coordinator, your Clinical or Educational Supervisor and you must also sign the form.

Please submit the completed form in person to the reception area of the PGEC or you can email it to the study leave coordinator Lynsay Norris [email protected]

Forms must be submitted 6 weeks before the requested study leave, and ideally longer to enable the department to obtain locum cover, if required.

Along with the application form you must submit course details.

We keep a record of your proposed study leave and a copy of the form. You will then, via email, receive a copy back confirming that you have enough study leave days to attend the course and the form will state how much study leave money you have left, taking in consideration your attendance at the requested event.

Following attendance you must make a claim on e-Expenses.

e-Expense Registration
For information on how to register click here.

Copies of the registration form and vehicle access form can also be obtained here and here.

For guidance documents on submitting a claim please see here.

If you are having trouble completing your claim, click here to view our troubleshooting guide.

For any queries with anything to do with the registration or claiming for any course please contact [email protected]

The PGME department only role is in the approval and sign off.