The programme is centred on the Oxford Centre for Enablement (OCE), Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford and the Department of Rehabilitation, Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading.
However it also involves the National Spinal Injury Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury and services delivered in surrounding services such as the Major Trauma Centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital and community rehabilitation service at Newbury Hospital.
It is quite possible to commute to the posts on the rotation from an appropriately located home within the triangle of Aylesbury, Oxford and Reading.
The posts and rotation.
There are currently six trainees within the rotation (2014) and all trainees appointed have the same exposure; there are no trainee appointments attributed particularly to any one subspeciality. Given the small number of trainees, the irregularity of starting and ending dates, the occurrence of maternity leave and out-of-programme training it is difficult to set out a fixed rota. However the usual and preferred scheme is approximately:
- Royal Berkshire Hospital (mainly neurological with community and other areas), 16 months
- National Spinal Injury Centre, spinal injury rehabilitation, 4 months
- Oxford Centre for Enablement neurological rehabilitation with assistive technology and day hospital, 8 months
- John Radcliffe Hospital, trauma rehabilitation, 4 months
- Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, musculo-skeletal rehabilitation including spinal pain, and prosthetics, 8 months
- Options, 8 months: additional experience in preferred area, and experience in paediatric rehabilitation, pain management, stroke, liaison psychiatry etc
It must be stressed that individual programmes may not be in this order, and that trainees will sometimes be training in two (or more) types of practice at the same time. For example prosthetics is usually integrated into time in neurological rehabilitation. They are also expected to take opportunities to gain particular experience of unusual or particular areas when opportunities arise; for example to attend court when a patient in the Permanent Vegetative State is having their Best Interests decided.