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Introduction

 

The Community Child Health training programme consists of 2 years training in Community Child Health and a 3rd year developing further expertise in a particular area of Community Child Health or in a relevant specialty.

  • This guidance should be read together with the RCPCH checklists and questionnaires . 
  • The RCPCH competency document and guidance on assessment

This pack does not seek to reproduce the curriculum/competence document, rather to offer suggestions on how to achieve the competences.

You may also wish to look at the advice and guidance available on the BACCH website .

While some of this pack is currently being updated, much of the information and guidance on training opportunities mentioned in the syllabus is still relevant.

 

Essentials

The CSAC recommends that a clinical commitment in a geographical patch running through two years is desirable to develop and maintain relationships both with parents and children and with other members of the community based multi agency team. However the current structure of training programmes does not always allow this to occur. As an absolute minimum, CCH trainees should spend 12 months in each placement and placements for longer than this should be encouraged. The third year should be spent in a different centre to gain breadth of experience.

There should also be the opportunity for the trainee to gain competency in the specific specialist areas identified in the Competency Framework. These include Child Public Health, Behavioural Paediatrics, Safeguarding and Neurodisability. It is suggested that about 2 sessions per week be allocated to achieving the specialist competencies over the three year training period. This can conveniently be arranged as modules, concentrating on a particular area for about 6 months. 

Particular experience in areas such as paediatric neurology and paediatric palliative care may be arranged during these sessions or as a six-month placement during the ‘relevant specialty’ period during training. A paediatric neurology placement should be a high priority for CCH trainees, due to the overlap with complex neurodisability. Please note that placements in specialties outside paediatrics e.g. a full time placement in CAMHS cannot be recognised for training in paediatrics.