The Enhance Programme is a partnership between 13 third sector delivery partners and Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust (LCH) services, providing person-centred holistic support at home for people receiving community-based healthcare.

About this project

Enhance links third-sector organisations with LCH Neighbourhood Teams and LCH specialist services to avoid delayed discharges and readmissions to hospitals for individuals. It also aims to enhance capacity throughout the health and social care system.

Enhance provides:

• Proactive and responsive support to people referred by LCH services to promote recovery and rehabilitation, improve health and quality of life, prevent deterioration and support wider health and wellbeing for up to 12 weeks.
• Enhanced capacity for LCH services by reducing time spent on non-clinical tasks and reducing clinical demand for LCH clinicians by improving health and wellbeing for people.

How to refer to Enhance

Enhance referrals can only be made by Leeds Community Healthcare staff. First, check which delivery partner you need to make the referral to by using the postcode finder tool then give them a call to check that a referral is appropriate. Then go to SystmOne to complete the referral form which must be sent to the Enhance Delivery Partner’s NHS email address.

Enhance delivery partners

Each of the Enhance third sector delivery partners supports individuals referred to them, in the following ways.

Person-centred support, including:

• Home visits
• Opportunities for social connection
• Support in managing health (such as setting up repeat prescriptions, dosette boxes, key safes)

Information and advice, including:

• Ensure home environment is safe through, for example, a ‘safe and well’ referral to the Fire Service, including ensuring their home is warm and free from falls risks.
• Prompt exercise by liaising with therapy services as appropriate, linking to exercise classes, encouraging movement in and around home
• Ensure access to appropriate welfare benefits, such as Attendance Allowance, Carers Allowance and Pension Credit, blue badge and bus pass applications and renewals.
• Support self-management
• Provision of regular contact/check-in for up to 12 weeks, for example through home visits, phone calls, and access to an organisation’s activities.
• Support access to health appointments, for example through appointment reminders, access to transport, accompanying to appointments.
• Ensure access to food, such as through food parcels, personal shopping, support to shop online, meals on wheels, meeting dietary needs and access to lunch clubs.

Partnership work, including:

• Joint visit and double up of visits with LCH staff when both are able.
• Regular communication and appropriate and regular two way information sharing.
• Agency advocacy, liaison and referrals, such as ongoing referrals, links to specialist support including Adult Social Care, Care & Repair (aim for’ no wrong door’ approach).
• Sharing good practice to contributing to the test and learn ethos
• Peer learning events facilitated by LOPF

Please click here to use the Enhance postcode finder and map to find the right delivery partner for your patient for each Neighbourhood Team.

North Leeds

South Leeds

West Leeds

Please click here to use the Enhance postcode finder and map to find the right third sector delivery partner to refer to for each Neighbourhood Team.

Learning from year 2 of Enhance

In November 2023 we commissioned three videos focusing on staff and participants’ experience of Enhance, and held a conference – ‘people ● prevention ● partnership: Sharing learning from year 2 of the Enhance programme’.

Watch the videos and read the conference outcomes:

Enhance: Impact on people (YouTube, 4:22)

Enhance: Impact on Leeds Community Healthcare Trust (YouTube, 4:32)

Enhance: Power of partnership (YouTube, 4:24)

people ● prevention ● partnership: Summary of Enhance conference outcomes

Enhance stories

Peter’s and Sandra’s stories

Peter and Sandra (each aged 62) talk about how life has got better through contact with the Enhance project at Health for All.

Peter and Sandra (each aged 62) talk about how life has got better through contact with the Enhance project at Health for All.

Dave’s story

Dave (aged 76) talks about how important the Enhance project at Armley Helping Hands has been for him.

You can read more ‘Stories from the front line’ about how individuals have benefitted from Enhance in our learning briefing 5 and learning briefing 9.

Enhance peer learning

We organise regular peer learning sessions, to help share information and good practice between our 3^rd sector delivery partners, and between delivery partners and Leeds Community Healthcare.

Please get in touch with suggestions for topics that you would find helpful.

We also write a briefing from each session to ensure the learning is shared further. See our collection of learning briefings below.

Enhance – learning briefings

A series of concise briefings from the valuable learning gained from the Enhance programme, compiled and published as the programme evolves. 

• Enhance learning briefing 1 (June 2022)
  Feedback on the process for applying for Enhance funding from Leeds Older People’s Forum
• Enhance learning briefing 2 (July 2022)
  Early reflections on cross-sector working between Third Sector organisations and Neighbourhood Teams in Leeds
• Enhance learning briefing 3 (August 2022)
  How are things going in the early stages of delivery?
• Enhance learning briefing 4 (September 2022)
  The cost of living crisis – the challenges and the support on offer
• Enhance learning briefing 5 (October 2022)
  Stories from the front line
• Enhance learning briefing 6 (November 2022)
  Leeds Public Health Winter messages
• Enhance Learning briefing 7 (December 2022)
  Practical ideas for better monitoring and evaluation
• Enhance learning briefing 8 (January 2023)
  Sharing success and considering a core offer
• Enhance learning briefing 9 (February 2023)
  Stories from the front line
• Enhance learning briefing 10 (May 2023)
  Stories from the front line
• Enhance learning briefing 11 (July 2023)
  Progress as Year 2 gets underway
• Enhance Learning Briefing 12 (August 2023)
  Cross-sector collaboration to improve health outcomes
• Enhance Learning Briefing 13 (October 2023)
  Stories from the frontline (October 2023)
  People, Prevention, Partnership
• Enhance learning briefing 14 (November 2023)
  Review of the Enhance medication prompt pilot
• Enhance learning briefing 15 (November 2023)
  Review of the work with neighbourhood teams
• Enhance learning briefing 16 (January 2024)
  holistic, person-centred support
• Enhance learning briefing 16a (January 2024)
  summary report – holistic, person-centred support
• Enhance learning briefing 17 (November 2024)
• Stories of person-centred support

Enhance – thematic reports

A series of short reports, written by independent evaluator Dr Sarah Alden, which draw on learning from the second year of the Enhance programme. Each report focuses on a specific theme, with real case studies.

• Improving health outcomes through reducing financial inequality (PDF)
• Improving health outcomes through reducing social isolation and loneliness (PDF)
• Keeping safe and avoiding crisis (PDF)
• Keeping well through movement, nutrition and hydration (PDF)
• Supporting independence through digital inclusion (PDF)
• Summary of key third sector offers (v1) (PDF)
• Achieving impact through community hubs (PDF)

Enhance – evaluation reports

Reports and analysis from evaluations of the Enhance programme.

• An evaluation of phase one of Enhance March 2023 (PDF)
  Qualitative evaluation by Dr Sarah Alden
• Evaluation of the Enhance programme: summary report March 2023 (Year 1) (PDF)
  Summary of qualitative evaluation by Dr Sarah Alden.
• Enhance programme learning and evaluation findings: Evaluation Questionnaire Analysis May 2024 (Years 1-2) (PDF)
  By Dr Sarah Alden.
• Enhance second round evaluation report March 2024 (PDF)
  Quantitative report by Gemma Howorth (Health & Care Evaluation Service).
• Enhance programme learning and evaluation findings for year two March 2024 (PDF)
  Qualitative evaluation by Dr Sarah Alden
• Summary of the Enhance evaluation findings for year two May 2024 (PDF)
  Summary of qualitative evaluation by Dr Sarah Alden
• Enhance Report: LCH Feedback October 2024 (PDF)
  Enhance’s reported outcomes and impact on LCH staff by Dr Sarah Alden
• Enhance Programme learning and evaluation findings: Questionnaire analysis October 2024 (PDF)
  An Enhance evaluation report written by Dr Sarah Alden