The West Midlands urological training programme has 27 NTNs and covers a wide geographical area from Hereford in the south to Stoke & Shrewsbury in the north.

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Birmingham is a dynamic hub within the region and has a huge range of cultural and sporting centres, restaurants and leisure facilities, with excellent communication links to the rest of the UK. The surrounding countryside is some of the most attractive in the UK.

If you require further information email Suzanne Dunk (BSoT rep for this region)

Training Centres

All trainees will normally spend at least one year at a tertiary centre (University Hospital Birmingham, University Hospital Coventry & Warwick, or University Hospital North Midlands) - all the training units, together with the number of trainees are shown below:

Additionally, there are two, four-week rotations at Birmingham Children's Hospital during the five years of training. These short rotations are a recent addition to the training programme, and have been devised to help trainees achieve their indicative numbers in paediatric urology.

The Training Programme Director for West Midlands is Mr Herman Fernando, based at University Hospitals of North Midlands, Stoke-on-Trent. If you wish to contact the TPD, please click here to send an email. 

Training Programme

The larger units tend to specialise more, although you will find sub-specialisation in some of the smaller units: for example, Good Hope Hospital (Sutton Coldfield) and Russells Hall Hospital (Dudley) both have sub-specialist Andrology Units. Smaller units such as those in Hereford, Burton and Nuneaton provide excellent general urological experience, which makes them very popular with the more junior trainees.

Paediatric exposure is provided in combination with local provision in district general hospitals and the two, four-week rotations at Birmingham Children's Hospital (see above).

Trainees encouraged to choose where they would like to train; although no guarantees are given, the majority of trainees are accommodated with their first or second choice each year.

There are opportunities within the region to specialise in all the main branches of urology (oncology, endourology, reconstruction, urogynaecology and andrology). Additionally, the deanery has informal links with a unit in Australia and, in previous years, some trainees have had the opportunity to arrange a one-year period of out-of-programme experience in Perth (Western Australia).

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Teaching Programme

There is a teaching programme of approximately 15 full-day, compulsory teaching sessions each year, spread between the various units on the rotation. These aim to cover the whole of the urological syllabus, as well as touching on other important issues such as non-technical skills for surgeons.

In addition, you'll attend “ad hoc” meetings, plus two regional audit meetings that attract a significant Consultant attendance. You'll also be expected to attend the annual BAUS or EAU meeting each year.

Trainees have their own organisation, the Orchid Club, which meets regularly to discuss various issues and to hear guest speakers. There is also trainee representation on the local Specialty Training Committee (STC).

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Research and Audit

In the deanery, research and further education have been undertaken in a wide variety of topics, including uro-oncology, education and management studies.

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The Bottom Line

The West Midlands region is largely based in and around Birmingham, Britain's second largest city.  But, it also covers a wide and diverse geographical area, ranging from Hereford in the south, to Stoke on Trent in the north.

The region produced the first English bicycle in 1870 and, in 1895, Britain's first four-wheel petrol car. Birmingham itself has more miles of canals than Venice. The region covers a large section of the English Midlands, extending from the industrial city of Coventry in the east to the rural delights of Shrewsbury in the west.

It often comes as a surprise to people that the countryside in the East Midlands, far from being destroyed by heavy industry, actually provides some of the most attractive rural landscape in the UK.

Click here to see contacts, hospitals and administrative information for this region

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