Clinical Attachments

CLINICAL ATTACHMENTS

East Sussex Healthcare Trust (ESHT) offer clinical attachment observerships at Conquest Hospital, Hastings and Eastbourne District General Hospital.    These are short term unpaid placements for qualified international doctors who wish to gain an overview of medical processes and systems in the NHS.   They are for observation only and the doctor undertaking the clinical attachment will not have direct patient contact or take any responsibility.   They will be attached to a department and supported by a named clinical supervisor.

 

What does the placement involve?

During clinical attachment, doctors will have the opportunity to observe and participate in activities such as:

  • participate in patient administration
  • take a patient history
  • observe consultations
  • attend multi-disciplinary meetings
  • Perform a supervised clinical examination.
  • observe surgery
  • quality improvement activities or audits

All doctors undertaking clinical attachments at ESHT will be required to deliver a short case presentation at a session organised by the Medical Education Team.

Attendance

In order to receive a certificate of completion for your clinical attachment you should have attended at east 80% of your 4 weeks clinical attachment placement.

 Who is eligible?

Qualified doctors.

How to apply

Candidates will need to complete an application form and provide the following:

Copy of CV/resume (official translation in English)

Copy of original Passport

Visitor visa (if required)

Proof of Medical Degree

Evidence of having completed and passed PLAB 1

Letter of good standing/reference from a medical board (official translation in English)

When to apply

 We will be offering clinical attachments during following 2 periods:

Period 1:  2nd March 2026 to 27th March 2026

Period 2: 11th May 2026 to 5th June 2026

 

Applications for 2026 will be accepted from 15th December 2025 until 31st January 2026.  No applications outside these dates or arranged with a consultant without making an application will be considered.

 

Due to the high volume of applications, we will aim to respond to successful candidates within 4 weeks of submission.   We cannot contact unsuccessful candidates, therefore if you have not heard from us within 4 weeks, your application has probably been unsuccessful.

 

Clinical attachment available at ESHT

 

Clinical attachments are available in the following departments:

 

Eastbourne District General Hospital Conquest Hospital, Hastings
Diabetes and Endocrinology Diabetes and Endocrinology
Emergency Medicine Emergency Medicine
Gastroenterology Gastroenterology
Urology Cardiology
Anaesthetics Elderly Medicine
ENT Respiratory Medicine
Paediatrics
Obstetrics and gynaecology
General Surgery
Trauma & Orthopaedics
Anaesthetics

 

 

 

 

Fees

The cost of a 4-week clinical attachment placement at ESHT is £500, which includes a £100 non-refundable administration fee. The full fee is payable in advance, and we will not be able to confirm the clinical attachment placement until this payment has been received.

 

Please note this fee does not include food, accommodation or any other expenses.

 

Cancellation policy:

 

Cancellations 4 weeks or more prior to the start date, £400 will be refunded.

Cancellations 2 weeks or less prior to the start date may result in no refund.

 

Accommodation

 

Contacts details for ESHT accommodation team will advise on the availability of ESHT accommodation and charges.  Please note ESHT accommodation is limited, and alternative arrangements may need to be made.

 

 

Accordion

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (ESHT) are pleased to offer clinical attachment placements at Eastbourne District General Hospital and Conquest Hospital, Hastings. A clinical attachment is for:

  • Doctors who have qualified abroad and would like to gain some experience of UK culture and the NHS
  • Doctors returning to practice following a break (eg maternity leave or ill health)
  • Doctors requesting experience of a particular specialty to aid career choice
  • A short term placement for a qualified doctor who needs experience of the NHS.
  • Observation only.

ESHT gives priority to high calibre doctors who have an intention to apply for a vacant position in the Trust. However, please note that doing a clinical attachment does not automatically secure a position at the Trust.

In accordance with Home Office recommendations, attachments are limited to a maximum of 4 weeks.  Only one attachment per person is permitted.

Accordion

 

The Clinical Attachment Application Form can be found by clicking here:

ESHT Clinical Attachment Application Form 

 

Send your Application Form to : esht.clinicalattachments@nhs.net

Thank you for your application. Due to the large volume of requests we receive for Clinical Attachments, we cannot guarantee a place for you as places are limited.

If you do not hear from us within 4 weeks, please assume your application has not been successful.

Occupational Health

If you have a medical condition for which adjustments are required to enable you to carry out your placement, you must inform the Medical Education Department in advance of your placement.

Information will be given to you on starting your placement as to actions to take in the event of you sustaining a needle-stick injury or body fluid exposure.

Please contact the Occupational Health and Wellbeing Department if you develop any of / or a combination of the symptoms listed below:

  • Unexplained weight loss
  • Unexplained fever, particularly at night
  • Unexplained breathlessness or persistent chest pain
  • Unexplained cough lasting longer than three weeks, especially if you are producing sputum

Accommodation (once you have an Attachment agreed)

If your clinical attachment is agreed, we will provide you with contact details for our accommodation officers at Eastbourne DGH and Conquest Hospital, Hastings who will be able to advise you of availability of hospital accommodation and fees.

Further Information

Clinical Attachment Guidance from GMC
Useful links: Clinical attachments (bma.org.uk)