Recruitment Prioritisation

Applicants should be aware that national recruitment prioritisation policies may apply to Academic Clinical Fellowship recruitment. In line with current national guidance, prioritisation will be applied at the offer stage of the recruitment process. Prioritised applicants will be considered for appointment ahead of non-prioritised applicants in accordance with the applicable national recruitment rules.

An applicant’s prioritisation status will be determined using the information provided within their application at the time of submission and in line with national recruitment guidance.

Further information regarding recruitment prioritisation can be found on the NHS England Medical Hub: Prioritisation for Specialty Recruitment | Medical Hub (https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/prioritisation-for-specialty-recruitment)

Please note that national recruitment policies are subject to change, and applicants are responsible for reviewing the most up-to-date guidance applicable to the recruitment round in which they are applying.

Shortlisting Minimum Scoring Threshold

The NIHR has introduced a minimum shortlisting threshold for applicants applying under the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS). Applicants who meet the essential eligibility criteria will also be required to achieve the minimum shortlisting score specified within the current NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship recruitment guidance to be guaranteed an interview.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the latest NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship recruitment guidance for full details of the shortlisting process, scoring methodology, interview selection criteria and any other recruitment requirements.

Further information can be found on the NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship recruitment website.

Please note that recruitment policies, shortlisting requirements and scoring thresholds are subject to change. Applicants are responsible for ensuring they have reviewed the most up-to-date guidance relevant to the recruitment round in which they are applying.

Local Recruitment Process Changes

To support the timely review of applications, all candidates’ application status on Oriel will be progressed to ‘Shortlisted’ while eligibility checks are being completed.

Please note that this status does not confirm eligibility and should not be taken as confirmation that all recruitment requirements have been met.

Eligibility checks will continue until interview invitations have been issued for the relevant recruitment round. Candidates may be withdrawn from the recruitment process at any stage if they are subsequently found not to meet the essential criteria set out in the NIHR guidance or the relevant specialty person specifications.

Applicants may submit a maximum of three ACF applications across all regions and academic institutions

If more than three applications are submitted, only your first three applications received (based on the application timestamp) will be considered. Any additional applications will be automatically withdrawn by the recruiting region after the application closing date.

Entry Requirements for ST1

Applicants must either: Hold a current DRN in Core Surgical Training and must be CT1 on post start date as demonstrated by ARCP

Or

Applicants without an DRN: Must complete a separate standard clinical application form to Core Surgical Training CT1 national recruitment (called Clinical Benchmarking) and attend an assessment/interview for Core Surgical Training CT1 in 2027/2028 and be found appointable.

Entry Requirements for ST2

Applicants must: Hold a current DRN in Core Surgical Training and must be CT2 on post start date as demonstrated by ARCP

Entry Requirements for ST3

Applicants must either: Hold a current NTN in Paediatric Surgery and must be ST3 on post start date as demonstrated by ARCP

Or

Applicants without an NTN: Must complete a separate standard clinical application form to Paediatric Surgery ST3 national recruitment (called Clinical Benchmarking) and attend an assessment/interview for Paediatrics Surgery ST3 in 2027/2028 and be found appointable.

Applicants that do not already hold a National Training Number (NTN) / Deanery Reference Number (DRN) in the GMC specialty to which they are applying must be found appointable at the specialty training interviews in the 2027/28 Recruitment Round 1/Round 2 (where applicable). Please refer to the recruitment timeline for further information; Click Here for Recruitment Timelines (https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/overview-of-specialty-training/recruitment-timelines)

Please note that if you do not submit an application to the specialty by the closing date then, you will not be eligible to proceed any further in the process.

If you have any questions regarding eligibility or benchmarking, please submit a query via our applicant enquiries portal (https://lasepgmdesupport.hee.nhs.uk/support/home).

Please note there are two person specifications relevant to this post:

• NIHR Person Specification: Available via the Document Tab
• Matched National Specialty Person Specification: Available via the National Specialty Recruitment Website: https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training

Applicants applying to medical specialties must demonstrate the essential competences, or equivalent competences, required for the level of training they are applying to. Further information on the required competences can be found within the relevant person specification (https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/person-specifications).

Applicants must upload all required evidence of competence as part of their online application. Failure to provide the necessary evidence may affect the assessment of eligibility.

If you experience any difficulties uploading supporting documentation, please contact the PGMDE Support Team via the PGMDE Support Portal (https://lasepgmdesupport.hee.nhs.uk/support/home) as soon as possible.

Please note that the grade(s) advertised are the grade(s)/s applicable at the post start date. Applicants must therefore be eligible to commence training at the advertised grade(s) on the advertised start date of the post.

Trainees are not permitted to repeat training in order to take up an Academic Clinical Fellowship (ACF) post and cannot be appointed to a grade that is not advertised.

For example, if a post is advertised at ST3, a trainee who is currently at ST3 and is expected to progress to ST4 by the post start date would not be eligible to take up the post at ST3. This is because it would require them to repeat training that has already been successfully completed.

Similarly, if you have already received a satisfactory ARCP at the grade for which you are applying, you will not be eligible to be appointed at that grade.

If you are unsure about your eligibility, please submit an enquiry via the Applicant Enquiries Portal. (https://lasepgmdesupport.hee.nhs.uk/support/home)

Reasonable adjustments and Disability Confident Scheme (DCS)

For more information regarding reasonable adjustments and disability confident scheme please refer to the Medical Specialty Recruitment website (https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/overview-of-specialty-training/applying).

If you have made a positive declaration in the FTP section, you must follow this up by completing our form on the support portal (https://lasepgmdesupport.hee.nhs.uk/support/tickets/new?form_19=true), you must contact London recruitment office via support portal by the close of the application window. Failure to provide the outlined information by the close of application may result in your application being withdrawn.

Applicants may be required to provide supporting documentation as part of their application.

Reapplication to another region: Applicants with an NTN based outside of the region to which they are applying must provide a ‘Support for Reapplication to Continue Training in Another Region’ (https://www.oriel.nhs.uk/Web/ResourceBank) form.

Reapplication following relinquishment: Applicants who have previously relinquished a specialty training programme must provide a ‘Support for Reapplication to a Specialty Training Programme’ (https://www.oriel.nhs.uk/Web/ResourceBank) form

Current NTN Holders: Applicants with an NTN based inside of the region to which they are applying must provide their most recent ARCP.

Dual Training Programme: Applicants who are in a dual training programme, must provide both ARCP demonstrating satisfactory progression.

This award is for completion of CCT/ CESR (CP) subject to satisfactory progression.

Please note that additional posts may be added to this vacancy at a later stage. These posts may not be detailed within the current advertisement.

Eligibility Criteria for Recruitment to Specialty Training - Immigration Requirements

All medical practitioners are on the shortage occupation list, so all specialty recruitment applicants will be exempt from the resident labour market test.

NHS England (NHSE) is responsible for the sponsorship of Medical and Dental trainees for their Skilled worker visa application in England. The Medical Specialty Recruitment (https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/overseas-applicants) website has guidance for applicants requiring a visa.

Interview Date: TBC (Subject to change)

Interview Venue: Remote interviews via Microsoft teams (access to a microphone, camera and good Wi-Fi connection is essential)

Interview Length: 30mins (subject to change)

Posts commence on: 6th October 2027

Document Checking: Please have one form of identification available.

Interview Format: A single station interview assessing criteria from the relevant person specifications.

Please visit the PGMDE Support Portal (https://lasepgmdesupport.hee.nhs.uk/support/home) where you will find a series of FAQs, and you will be able to submit an enquiry to the London and Kent, Surrey and Sussex Recruitment Team.