Foundation Doctor's Guide to Wessex

Wessex foundation school stretches from Basingstoke, south to Portsmouth & Southampton, and then west along the coast towards Dorchester & Bournemouth, and then also extends to Jersey.

Foundation School Statistics

2020 F1 Places: 292
2020 F1 Applicants: 223 (13 Academic Foundation posts)
2020 Competition Ratio: 0.76
2019 Competition Ratio: 0.78
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Hospitals

From early 2021, Messly’s updated Training Navigator will be released which will show in-depth  reviews & GMC ratings on each Foundation Training rotation in each  deanery.

• Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital
• Dorset County Hospital
• Jersey General Hospital
• Lymington New Forest Hospital
• Poole General Hospital
• Queen Alexandra Hospital
• Royal Bournemouth General Hospital
• Royal Hampshire County Hospital
• Salisbury District Hospital
• Southampton General Hospital
• St Mary’s Hospital, Isle of Wight

Southampton General Hospital is a major trauma centre and also the regional specialists in respiratory, neurological, GI, heart, cancer & paediatric medicine. Jersey General Hospital is also a major trauma centre.

A Doctor’s View

“I chose to do my foundation years in Wessex as it’s such a friendly deanery with a range of fantastic DGHs. I had studied at Southampton medical school and already had placements at most hospitals in Wessex, so really knew what I was applying to.

I love living here as there are brilliant things to do in your free time if you like the outdoors: beaches, forest walks, water sports, beautiful countryside, and some lovely towns to visit. Dorchester is particularly great, as you’re just a few miles away from the Jurassic coastline and there’s lots going on here in the summer.

Socially, Wessex is great as it tends to attract doctors who are fairly outgoing and want to socialise outside of work. Most hospitals have very active doctor’s messes and organise lots of events and outdoor activities. Obviously there aren’t as many large events going on compared to London or Birmingham, but it makes up for that with the opportunity to do many outdoor activities.

Wessex generally has very well supported foundation doctors due to the friendly nature of registrars and consultants at most hospitals. I’ve heard that at the smaller, more isolated trusts in, for example, the Isle of Wight, where there may be slightly fewer seniors in your team due to fewer training posts, however, on the whole, Wessex trainees tend to speak positively of their foundation experience.

In terms of transport, it definitely helps to have a car, otherwise getting around Wessex can be very difficult, especially if you want to get to see all the beautiful nature!”

Jacob Stone, Mess Champion, Foundation Year 1 at Dorset County Hospital

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