Who are the lead employers? Who is my lead employer?


The lead employers will be the employer for the duration of the training programme. The national programmes were initially allocated across the lead employers as detailed below, however following feedback on these arrangements, all trainees on national/ cross regional programmes were transferred to NES as their employer as of the 5th February 2020. Further information is available here. 

The lead employers will be the employer for the duration of the training programme. They are:

NHS Grampian for all foundation, core and specialty trainees (excluding GPSTs):

  • In the North Region of Scotland, this encompasses NHS Highland, NHS Orkney, NHS Shetland, NHS Western Isles, NHS Tayside and NHS Grampian.
  • On the following East/ North regional programmes:
    • Urology
    • ENT
    • East Medical Microbiology.

NHS Lothian - for all foundation, core and specialty trainees (excluding GPSTs):

  • In the East Region of Scotland, this encompasses NHS Borders, NHS Fife and NHS Lothian.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde - for all foundation, core and specialty trainees (excluding GPSTs):

  • In the West Region of Scotland, this encompasses NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Lanarkshire, Golden Jubilee National Hospital, State Hospital and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

NHS Education for Scotland - for all trainees on:

  • General Practice Specialty Training programmes
    • This includes all trainees on placements in General Practices and in hospital placements in NHS Highland, NHS Orkney, NHS Shetland, NHS Western Isles, NHS Tayside, NHS Grampian, NHS Borders, NHS Fife, NHS Lothian, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
  • In addition to this, the following national programmes:
    • Broad Based Training
    • Cardio-thoracic Surgery
    • Cardio-thoracic surgery (run through)
    • Chemical Pathology 
    • Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - National
    • Clinical Genetics
    • Clinical Neurophysiology (All Scotland)
    • Clinical Oncology
    • Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
    • Combined Infection Training
    • Community and Sexual and Reproductive Health
    • Core Surgical Training - East of Scotland
    • Diagnostic Neuropathology
    • Forensic Histopathology
    • Forensic Psychiatry
    • Genito-urinary Medicine
    • Immunology
    • Infectious Diseases
    • Intellectual Disability Psychiatry - National
    • Medical Microbiology - East of Scotland
    • Medical Oncology
    • Medical Ophthalmology – National
    • Medical Psychotherapy
    • Medical Virology
    • Neurology
    • Neurosurgery - National
    • Nuclear Medicine
    • Occupational Medicine (All Scotland)
    • Old Age Psychiatry - National
    • Oral and Maxillo-facial Surgery
    • Otolaryngology - East
    • Paediatric Cardiology
    • Paediatric and Perinatal Pathology
    • Paediatric Surgery
    • Palliative Medicine - West
    • Plastic Surgery
    • Public Health
    • Rehabilitation Medicine
    • Urology - East of Scotland
    • Vascular Surgery