Diagnostic and treatment centres – implications for surgical training

Abstract

The Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) senior house officer (SHO) position is a training post, and it is expected that the SHO will become proficient in various procedures during a six-month ENT post and ultimately by the end of basic surgical training (see http://www.entuk.org/career_advice). These 'index' procedures include grommet insertion, adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy. Anecdotally, it is felt that current ENT SHOs are not performing as many procedures as previously, with consequent negative effects on training. One of the reasons for this may be the creation of NHS diagnostic and treatment centres (DTCs) and independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs), purely elective hospitals, which take patients from the waiting lists of standard NHS hospitals.