NHS Scientist Training Programme 2016 applicants!

Original post by SAN1992

Manchester Uni and my trust have said that they will not pay for accommodation (as we should be using our wages to pay for it)

The problem is that we will have to pay 2 houses at the same time.
How about transport?

Reply 2181

gyldin

Original post by SAN1992

Manchester Uni and my trust have said that they will not pay for accommodation (as we should be using our wages to pay for it)

I don't think that's true, we have a bursary from NSHCS that should pay for travel or accommodation which the trusts receive when they hire us. So everyone should be able to claim expenses back.

Reply 2182

SAN1992

I know, I've spoken with Manc Uni and they said that they wont be helping us financially with accommodation. They did say that they would be offering us a reduced rate apartment hotel though.

I spoke with my trust and they said that I would have to pay for the accommodation with my wages (we get quite a good salary).

I didn't ask about transport though.

Reply 2183

SAN1992

Original post by gyldin

I don't think that's true, we have a bursary from NSHCS that should pay for travel or accommodation which the trusts receive when they hire us. So everyone should be able to claim expenses back.

Oh, I didn't know this, my trust didn't tell me that I could claim back expenses. I will have to ask them about this

Reply 2184

ssemog

Original post by SAN1992

I know, I've spoken with Manc Uni and they said that they wont be helping us financially with accommodation. They did say that they would be offering us a reduced rate apartment hotel though.

I spoke with my trust and they said that I would have to pay for the accommodation with my wages (we get quite a good salary).

I didn't ask about transport though.

I understand that we get quite a good salary. But not everyone's circumstances are the same. For example, I'm a single mother of 3 children, and I'm placed in Surrey which is quite expensive. Maintaining a 3 bedroom house in Surrey is already tricky on our salary, add travelling and accommodation to Manchester and it becomes nearly impossible. Don't take me wrong, I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to do the STP (with funded masters and awesome training) but I know other people here, who also will struggle, so I do hope we can claim some expenses back.

Reply 2185

SAN1992

Original post by ssemog

I understand that we get quite a good salary. But not everyone's circumstances are the same. For example, I'm a single mother of 3 children, and I'm placed in Surrey which is quite expensive. Maintaining a 3 bedroom house in Surrey is already tricky on our salary, add travelling and accommodation to Manchester and it becomes nearly impossible. Don't take me wrong, I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to do the STP (with funded masters and awesome training) but I know other people here, who also will struggle, so I do hope we can claim some expenses back.

I know, I will struggle too, I'm just telling you what I've been told :smile:

I've now contacted NSHCS and asked about it, I will let you now when I hear back

Reply 2186

ssemog

Hi, sorry lol, I thought the bit between the parentheses stating we get quite a good salary was yours and I didn't take it as irony :smile:

I found a document online that states:
"7.2 Travel & Accommodation HENE will reimburse reasonable travel and accommodation costs associated with university / National School Healthcare Science course / examination attendance. Estimated annual costs of these should be submitted to HENE at the start of the trainee’s academic year. Trusts will be reimbursed this amount and any adjustments made at the end of the financial year. The trainee should claim their expenses through their Trusts normal expenses route. "
From:https://www.networks.nhs.uk/nhs-networks/north-east-healthcare-science/hene-documents/hcs-scientist-training-programme-hene-funding-arrangements-employer-guidance

But yes, please let us know what they say :smile:

Reply 2187

jaaadele

Has anyone received feedback yet?

Reply 2188

SAN1992

Hello all,I've spoken with NSHCS about being reimbursed for accommodation in Manchester and they sent me the following reply:"Thank you for your email. Unfortunately you have been misinformed as the NSHCS does not fund any part of the STP, either pay or non pay so no trainees receive a bursary from us. The STP is funded by the local Health Education England commissioner. There may be variability across regions in terms of non pay as is outlined in the recruitment literature available to you upon application – (see question 36 of the FAQs) so it is better that you enquire with the local commissioner to identify what funding may be available".So basically you have to contact your regions HEE commissioner and ask, some regions will fund and others wont. I'm sorry if I'm breaking bad news to people.

Reply 2189

welly909

1

I've been having a disaster! Emailed my contact at Papworth when we received their details back in May and he said he would get in touch with HR and get the ball rolling with pre-employment checks and stuff. After three weeks I still hadn't heard anything so I called HR and they had no idea who I was or what the STP was. Two calls to the NSHCS and more emails to my contact later, I finally got a reply saying they had a new Director of Operations and she hadn't approved the post yet. I asked what my contact thought the chances of the post not being approved are and didn't get a very definitive response. My contact says he's sent 'everything required' to the new executive director. Apparently they had an executive directors meeting last week and talked about it but didn't come to a decision as she still wanted more information. My contact has said as the funding comes from external sources and It doesn't cost the trust anything to have my post that it's should just be a formality, but considering Kings and East Sussex trusts pulled out at the last minute in May i'm worried it might not be approved and i'll suddenly find myself without a post. Considering I need to resign from my current job in 3 weeks if i'm going to do this, and move to Cambridge, i'm finding this pretty stressful!Also a little bummed that my master is in Newcastle and not in Manchester but I was prepared for that and it's pretty minor compared to potentially not having a post at all.

Reply 2190

MagicTurtle

Hey guys,

I emailed my employing trust today about paying for accommodation and I received a very quick reply saying that they do have a limited budget per STP and have previously payed for our accommodation at a reasonable price. He also said that it's definitely worth trying to flat share or something with other trainees to bring the cost down as a hotel would be way over their budget.

They have also secured us a reduced rate at the Atrium apartments in Manchester but that still seems pretty expensive and I have no idea what they deem to be a "reasonable price."
For those of you that haven't already accessed the MASHE moodle page there is a list of accommodation options on there as well as discussion forums to organise sharing accommodation.

Is anyone else willing to try and sort a flat share or something for the weeks in October in Manchester? - Give me a shout!

Reply 2191

ssemog

Original post by welly909

I've been having a disaster! Emailed my contact at Papworth when we received their details back in May and he said he would get in touch with HR and get the ball rolling with pre-employment checks and stuff. After three weeks I still hadn't heard anything so I called HR and they had no idea who I was or what the STP was. Two calls to the NSHCS and more emails to my contact later, I finally got a reply saying they had a new Director of Operations and she hadn't approved the post yet. I asked what my contact thought the chances of the post not being approved are and didn't get a very definitive response. My contact says he's sent 'everything required' to the new executive director. Apparently they had an executive directors meeting last week and talked about it but didn't come to a decision as she still wanted more information. My contact has said as the funding comes from external sources and It doesn't cost the trust anything to have my post that it's should just be a formality, but considering Kings and East Sussex trusts pulled out at the last minute in May i'm worried it might not be approved and i'll suddenly find myself without a post. Considering I need to resign from my current job in 3 weeks if i'm going to do this, and move to Cambridge, i'm finding this pretty stressful!Also a little bummed that my master is in Newcastle and not in Manchester but I was prepared for that and it's pretty minor compared to potentially not having a post at all.

Oh no, I understand how stressful that might be! It should be just a formality if the funding does not even come from the trust! Seeing that your post will not affect their budget, I don't think the director would like to start the post making such harsh decisions who would affect not only you but the team who was expecting you in September. Fingers crossed for you, keep us updated!

Reply 2192

ssemog

Original post by SAN1992

Hello all,I've spoken with NSHCS about being reimbursed for accommodation in Manchester and they sent me the following reply:"Thank you for your email. Unfortunately you have been misinformed as the NSHCS does not fund any part of the STP, either pay or non pay so no trainees receive a bursary from us. The STP is funded by the local Health Education England commissioner. There may be variability across regions in terms of non pay as is outlined in the recruitment literature available to you upon application – (see question 36 of the FAQs) so it is better that you enquire with the local commissioner to identify what funding may be available".So basically you have to contact your regions HEE commissioner and ask, some regions will fund and others wont. I'm sorry if I'm breaking bad news to people.

Hey, Thanks for the update. The document I posted before was for the North East (HENE), so at least they fund accommodation....

Reply 2193

ssemog

Original post by MagicTurtle

Hey guys,

I emailed my employing trust today about paying for accommodation and I received a very quick reply saying that they do have a limited budget per STP and have previously payed for our accommodation at a reasonable price. He also said that it's definitely worth trying to flat share or something with other trainees to bring the cost down as a hotel would be way over their budget.

They have also secured us a reduced rate at the Atrium apartments in Manchester but that still seems pretty expensive and I have no idea what they deem to be a "reasonable price."
For those of you that haven't already accessed the MASHE moodle page there is a list of accommodation options on there as well as discussion forums to organise sharing accommodation.

Is anyone else willing to try and sort a flat share or something for the weeks in October in Manchester? - Give me a shout!

Hi,
How many weeks are you staying for? I'm staying in Manchestes for 3 weeks starting on the 3rd October. I'm looking at a 3 bedroom flat for £50 per night, are you interested?

If someone is, please let me know!

Reply 2194

Bagsworth

14

Original post by SAN1992

Hello all,I've spoken with NSHCS about being reimbursed for accommodation in Manchester and they sent me the following reply:"Thank you for your email. Unfortunately you have been misinformed as the NSHCS does not fund any part of the STP, either pay or non pay so no trainees receive a bursary from us. The STP is funded by the local Health Education England commissioner. There may be variability across regions in terms of non pay as is outlined in the recruitment literature available to you upon application – (see question 36 of the FAQs) so it is better that you enquire with the local commissioner to identify what funding may be available".So basically you have to contact your regions HEE commissioner and ask, some regions will fund and others wont. I'm sorry if I'm breaking bad news to people.

Every trainee should get about a £6,000 budget for the duration of their training. This can go towards accommodation over the MSc block release period, attendance of conferences or really whatever you want that you feel (and is agreed by your consultant) would further your healthcare science career. This is what the London Clinical Biochemistry consultant told me. You have to pay up front but give your consultant receipts of payment and you should be reimbursed. It works out more like £1,000 every 6 ish months more than being able to blow it all in one go though. Contact your prospective supervisor at your trust to find out how they do it there.

Reply 2195

SAN1992

Original post by ssemog

Hi,
How many weeks are you staying for? I'm staying in Manchestes for 3 weeks starting on the 3rd October. I'm looking at a 3 bedroom flat for £50 per night, are you interested?

If someone is, please let me know!

I'm possibly interested. If it's £50 for all 3 of us per night.