Enhance Programme
Welcome to the North West region Enhance Programme website. Here you will find an outline of the programme and resources that both trainees and supervisors need to get started.
Huge thanks to the Kent, Surrey and Sussex (KSS) Enhance Team who created the original resource that we have adapted for North West.
What is the Enhance Programme?
NHS England’s Enhance Programme (Enhance) is available to everyone who works for the health service in England. It was inspired by key findings from the Future Doctor report and NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, recognising the need to equip healthcare professionals with the skills to navigate our increasingly complex healthcare system.
Enhance will support you to develop attitudes, skills and behaviours that will be beneficial to your clinical work and specialty job applications. It will give you practical skills to help you to become a better doctor.
Why is Enhance important?
The Enhance Programme was created to improve generalist skills in UK healthcare workers. ’Generalist’ in this context means taking a holistic approach to the health and wellbeing of both individuals and entire populations.
Our healthcare system has become increasingly complex. This can often cause fragmented and disjointed care. As well as being inconvenient for the patient, it also increases the chance of error, waste and duplication.
By improving generalist skills, Enhance will help you feel more confident managing care across multiple overlapping physical and mental health services. It will equip you with the skills to bridge organisational boundaries, work better in multi-professional teams, and provide more person-centred care.
Enhance also aims to give you a greater understanding of social justice and the environment, and how these play a crucial role in practicing modern medicine.
How is Enhance relevant to the North West?
Our North West Population
- The North West has the largest percentage of its population as most deprived across all the regions in England.
- A larger percentage of the North West population is under 18 (20.5%) and over 64 (17.9%), compared to England .
- 18.8% of the North West population identify themselves as non-White British, which is third lowest across all regions.
- 65% of the North West population is identified as healthy and well, the smallest percentage across all other regions.
- The North West has a higher prevalence of chronic conditions, and a larger percentage of its population with Long Term Conditions (30%) compared to all other regions.
- Outside of London, North West has both the shortest number of healthy years and a shorter life span of 54 and 80 years, respectively.
- The North West has the second largest percentage of its population with a disability (1.6%), and more of its population (30%) has five or more disabilities, more than any other region.
North West Challenges
- The North West faces significant health challenges, marked by a higher proportion of the population experiencing deprivation, chronic conditions, and long-term health issues compared to national averages.
- The region has a larger percentage of young and elderly populations, with a notable prevalence of chronic diseases such as hypertension, depression, asthma, and heart disease.
- Health inequalities persist, particularly among ethnic minorities, and the demand for health services continues to grow, especially in primary, urgent, and mental health care.
- Despite efforts to improve workforce capacity, the increase remains below the rest of England in some areas including clinical services. - Covid-19 pandemic hit the North West harder than most other regions, with a higher prevalence and mortality rates.
- The pandemic has intensified pressures on North West healthcare service, such as increased demand for urgent, primary, and community care, along with the enduring impact of long Covid-19.
Isn’t it just something extra to do?
No. Enhance has been designed around the foundation curriculum, so any work you do on it will also count towards your ARCP. Enhance just helps you look at the foundation HLOs in a more holistic (and interesting) way.
What do I get for completing Enhance?
The national team is currently negotiating for Enhance to be worth a point on IMT and GP applications. There is also the opportunity to present your work at our regional resident doctor conference.
How is Enhance delivered?
There are two Enhance Programmes, Enhance Enable and Enhance Explore:
- Enable is a virtual e-learning programme that you can complete at your own pace. Foundation Doctors get a certificate for each completed module.
- Explore is a bespoke programme consisting of a series of in-person workshops. Most NHS trusts across the North West offer at least one track that includes the Explore Programme. Foundation Doctors on Explore tracks will receive invitations to attend workshops.
Enhance is an outcomes-based programme. It allows individuals to work at their own pace and to use a variety of methods to fulfil the curriculum items. Its scope has been left deliberately broad to allow trainees to explore areas they feel are important that are relevant to where they practice.
What does the programme cover?
The Enhance Programme covers the six domains outlined above. These domains are divided into six modules. Each of these has a workbook, which outlines the learning objectives and themes of the module.
Enhance encourages you to use a variety of methods to complete each module. This could be anything from e-learning, shadowing other healthcare professionals, to more creative methods like reading memoirs or novels that explore patient experience.
Who can complete Enhance?
Enhance Enable is open to anyone who works for NHS England, in a clinical or non- clinical role. Everyone is welcome to access the resources on this website and give the programme a go.
The Enhance Explore Programme is open to Foundation Doctors who have been allocated an Explore track at their NHS Trust.
How do I sign up?
Enhance Enable is self-guided, you can start working on it straightaway and you do not need to register. We do recommend that you let your educational supervisor know, as they will be responsible for your sign off. If they have any questions, information is available to supervisors here (excluding KSS specific information).
Enhance Explore Foundation Doctors will be automatically signed up to the Explore Programme, you do not need to register.
Where can I find out more?
The national Enhance website shares more information, and there is more information below.
If you have any further questions, please contact: England.enhance.nw@nhs.net
The links below have been created by KSS and share lots of useful information – but please note that some information may not be relevant to the NW region.
Information for teachers and trainers
Enhance modules
The links below have been created by KSS and will give you a great summary of the module resources. Please note that some information may not be relevant to the NW region.
Module two - person centred practice
Module three - complex multimorbidity
Module four - population health
Module five - 3-in-1 system working, environmental sustainability, social justice & health equity
Module six - contextual leadership
Enhance catalogue of resources