Ophthalmology ST1 deaneries: how the 2027 application decides where you train

You apply to an advert, not a deanery

NHS England South West "co-ordinates the national selection process for Ophthalmology ST1 recruitment". For 2027 entry there are two adverts on Oriel: one for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and one for Wales.

You apply to one of them. Applicants "can apply for either England, Scotland and Northern Ireland or Wales but they cannot apply for both."

Within the advert, you choose nothing about place: "When applying you will not need to select particular posts, regions, rotations, just complete and submit the application."

Source: Ophthalmology ST1: Applying (NHS England)

What choosing an advert decides

The advert is where you say which nation or nations you want to train in. NHS England's reason for allowing only one: "As applications can only be considered for 1 vacancy you should ensure that you only apply to your preferred training location."

Oriel will not stop you submitting to both. If both of your applications are still live when the window closes at 4pm on Thursday 19 November 2026, the one you submitted first is withdrawn. To keep the other, withdraw the one you do not want before the deadline.

NHS England's pages do not say whether a candidate on one advert can rank, or be offered, a post covered by the other. If that decides your choice of advert, ask the Ophthalmology National Recruitment Office before applications close.

Source: Ophthalmology ST1: Selection process (NHS England)

Where you train is decided by your rank and your preferences

Candidates who reach the offer stage "will be asked to rank the training locations in order of preference", in Oriel. Preferences open on Thursday 18 March 2027.

Your rank comes from your final total: your verified self-assessment score and your interview score, 50 points each. The MSRA is not part of it. "The posts will be allocated in rank order based on preference", and at the point of offers "a matching process will take place and successful candidates will receive their highest ranked preference available." Initial offers are released by 5pm on Tuesday 6 April 2027.

A short list of preferences carries a risk the guidance spells out: "Candidates whose preferences have been exhausted before their name is reached will not receive an offer."

Source: Ophthalmology ST1: Scoring, ranking and offers (NHS England)

Is there a Severn deanery Ophthalmology portfolio?

No. The portfolio is the national self-assessment and evidence folder, and NHS England publishes one scoring framework, one set of thresholds and one interview format for every Ophthalmology ST1 applicant. There is no Severn, London, Yorkshire or Wales version of it.

Severn is one of the two South West rotations on NHS England's Posts page, beside Peninsula. "The ST1 (level one) posts within Severn are based at the Cheltenham General Hospital, Royal United Hospital, Bath and the Great Western Hospital in Swindon." The Posts page lists Severn among the "Areas within England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland", the areas of the first advert. Whichever advert you apply to, you are scored like everyone else.

Source: Ophthalmology ST1: Posts (NHS England)

Ophthalmology ST1 posts by deanery for 2027

Each deanery or local office "submits its indicative number of vacancies with a brief outline of the programme", and NHS England lists them on its Posts page with each area's rotation and contacts. The numbers are indicative: "the actual number of posts in each area will be confirmed nearer to the time of offers."

As listed on 27 October 2026, minimum to maximum:

• East Midlands: 0 to 5
• East of England: 5
• Kent, Surrey and Sussex: 0 to 3
• London: 13 to 18
• North East: 0 to 5
• North West: 0 to 1 in North West and 0 to 1 in Mersey
• South West: 0 to 1 in Severn and 0 to 1 in Peninsula
• Thames Valley: 0 to 1
• Wessex: 0 to 2
• West Midlands: 0 to 3
• Yorkshire and the Humber: 7 to 10
• Northern Ireland: 0 to 1
• Scotland: 1 to 5
• Wales: 3 to 8

Source: Ophthalmology ST1: Posts (NHS England)

If you have to stay in one region

NHS England runs a national special circumstances process "to assist applicants who need to remain in a specific region for well founded personal reasons allowing them to be offered a particular region, should they be successful at interview."

It covers applicants with a personal medical condition or disability that needs ongoing care and treatment in a particular region, and applicants with primary caring responsibilities for someone with a disability. Eligibility is considered at the time of application, so declare it on the application form and send the supporting evidence by email.

Source: Ophthalmology ST1: Applying (NHS England)

What differs between deaneries, and what does not

What differs is where you live and work, which hospitals are in the rotation, and how many posts the area has in the round. Ophthalmic Specialist Training is a seven-year programme entered only at OST1, so the location you are offered is the longest-lasting consequence of the application.

What does not differ is everything that scores you. The application, the MSRA, the self-assessment and the interview are one national process, whichever deanery you have in mind.

Source: Becoming an ophthalmologist (The Royal College of Ophthalmologists)

Competition is published nationally, not by deanery

NHS England publishes competition ratios by specialty. In 2026 Round 1, Ophthalmology ST1 had 1,141 applications for 115 posts, a ratio of 9.92. Each applicant could apply only once per specialty in that round.

The table is by specialty, so there is no official ratio for a single deanery. Treat a regional competition figure with suspicion unless it names its source.

Source: Competition ratios for 2026 (NHS England)

So what should you do with a deanery in mind?

Choose the advert for where you want to train before applications close at 4pm on Thursday 19 November 2026. Then read the Posts page for the areas you would rank, ask the trainees there what the rotation is like, and have your order ready for 18 March 2027.

Spend the rest of your preparation on what decides how far down that list you reach: your verified self-assessment score and your interview.