west midlands region

General Histopathology trainees

Because the West Midlands is geographically such a large deanery, trainees are divided into an East and a North Rotation. The Details of all hospital sites in the region are here.

East Rotation (Green) sites are:

• Birmingham Heartlands Hospital

• Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham

• University Hospital Coventry

• Warwick Hospital

• Worcester Royal Hospital

North Rotation (Blue) sites are:

• Royal Shrewsbury Hospital

• Royal Stoke University Hospital

• Black Country Pathology Services based at New Cross Hospital

Trainees at New Cross Hospital may progress to either North or East rotations

Hospital allocations

Trainees are asked, prior to starting their ST1 year, to rank Coventry, Wolverhampton and Stoke in order of preference; if there is competition for particular sites, trainees are allocated on the basis of their scores in the national selection process. Based on the ST1 hospital allocation, trainees join either the East or North Rotations/sector; generally:

• Trainees starting in Coventry and Worcester join the East Rotation/sector

• Trainees starting in Stoke and Shrewsbury join the North Rotation/sector

• Trainees starting in Wolverhampton may join either the East or the North Rotation

In the February of the ST1 year (after getting to know the Deanery a little better), should the trainee require to change their sector for a particular reason then they can email and request this to the TPD for the coming years. However, this is dependent on space in the desired rotation. If there is competition to move into a particular rotation, the decision of who can move is made on the basis of scores in the national selection process.

You should be prepared to work at any hospital within your rotation. Hospital assignments are decided on the basis of trainees' needs and available space (which is limited). Changes to assignments are only possible if there are serious mitigating circumstances. If this applies to you, you must (if possible) inform your Training Programme Director of your circumstances at least 12 weeks prior to changeover day. 

Finally, general rule of thumb for allocation of placements: Trainees usually do not stay in the same hospital for consecutive years but they can come back to the same hospital in later years during their training. The exceptions for this is if you are in stage D and about to CCT, or if you are at New Cross hospital. This is because since the merger and a set up of BCPS at New Cross, it has become the largest training centre and pathology lab, accepting both North and East sector trainees. Therefore, everyone should be expecting to rotate through New Cross hospital at least once during your years of training at West Midlands deanery. 

ST1 Training sites

New Cross, Coventry and Shrewsbury (for 2025/2026)

New Cross, Coventry and Stoke (2026/2027) - number of places TBC