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Huntingdon (Hinchingbrooke) Links
Home of Oliver Cromwell and one
of the closest DGHs we get
sent to. It might not have fresh scones like Bury, but the friendliness
of the place must make up for its short-comings. It always seems to be
one of the favourite places that us clinical students get sent to.
Travel to Location By Car: Huntingdon’s the closest Stage 1 placement to Cambridge so it’s a reasonably easy commute for those who want to, taking about 35/40mins by car. For those without a lift it takes a bit longer, about an hour on the bus. The bus station is 10/15minute walk from Hinchingbrooke Hospital. Free parking permit from switchboard (other side of A&E) By Train: The Railway Station is only a 10mins walk away, 45 minutes by train from London (not Cambridge = rubbish). By Bus: The bus station is 20mins walk from the hospital and the journey takes about an hour on the 1A/5 Cambridge-St Ives-Huntingdon bus. Accommodation Not the best accommodation in the world but does the job! Stage 1s are usually put in flats of 4 people with one kitchen and bathroom between them. These are right next to the hospital so you can get more of a lie in in the morning! There are no showers, only baths, so bringing a plug on shower attachment for the bath may be a good idea. Availability of kitchen utensils and plates etc are variable in the flats, some have none, some have loads. Bedding is provided but there are no duvets, only rugs, so some people may want to bring a duvet along too. On the bright side, Huntingdon is close enough to Cambridge for many students to commute. "I didn't think the rooms were as bad as this makes out. I lived in Elizabeth house. Good size room and kitchen. Desk lamp and cleaners around to changes sheets. So be optimistic!" - Neil Britton Hospital Facilities Computer access and internet is available in the library and the drs mess. A key to the library is available from switchboard out of office hours when the library is closed. Doctors' Mess The drs mess is really sociable, and there’s free coffee, biscuits, cereal and toast. You also get a big free lunch on Fridays thanks to the drug companies! However, the doctors have informed medical students their budgetary constraints do not allow them feed all-comers, contrary to popular belief. Food Food is good and cheap. Show your ID badge and you get decent sized portions of cheap, home-style hot or cold food. The café downstairs remains open from 11am till around 2am, for those late-night on-calls and, if you ask nicely, the staff might even cook you something special and (if you're really lucky) bleep you when its ready. Local Amenities Food There is a really good restaurant/pub in Godmanchester, called the White Hart - look it up. An even better choice and closer to the hospital however is the Bramptom Mill - great food, posh converted mill and good value...by the river too. Shopping The town centre is a 10-15 minute walk from the hospital - exit the hospital, turn left and follow the road past the station into town. All the usual shops are there including Sainsbury's. Tesco is at the other end of town (other side of the A14). Parking is usually pay and display. Going Out The hospital is about 15minutes walk from the main town centre. There’s not much happening... a few restaurants and pubs (some which do karaoke!) And a Sainsbury’s to get your shopping. If you want a running route, there's a river with a lovely long footpath - a beautiful run, if it's not flooded. Only problem is, it takes 10-15min to jog there. Otherwise turn right from the hospital onto the main road and you get to a park that takes 15min to run around; it does get VERY waterlogged in winter. You could also jog around the police dog training ground - nice Teaching: Excellent haematology, rheumatology, general medicine teaching and X-ray teaching. Some Phase III teaching is open for everyone (eg. X-Ray), so ask what's happening. Teaching is split between classroom and ward and often is by consultants, but (as per usual) teaching is often cancelled for one reason or another. One slightly different thing is that Psychiatry is based on 3 sites about 20 min walking distance apart - Hinchingbrooke, Park House (by Sainsbury's) and South Building (through cemetery by Park house). Bring mobile phones to coordinate going home! Ob&Gyn – quite OK. Friendly consultants that understood the need for signatures, etc. Also the midwives are, by and large, very helpful. The advice might be just to make sure you make your presence felt on the delivery ward - otherwise they ignore you. |