Health Education England South East

What Health Education England South East does

Health Education England South East, operating as the Kent, Surrey and Sussex (KSS) Deanery, is a statutory regional body of NHS England responsible for planning, coordinating and quality-managing postgraduate medical and dental education across the South East of England. Established in April 2013 and merged into NHS England in 2023, the organisation supports approximately 3,270 doctors in training across Foundation (~1,000), Core Specialty (~600), Higher Specialty (~850) and GP Training (~820) programmes, working with 14 NHS trusts, around 250 GP practices, 7 higher education institutions and 4 integrated care boards covering a population of approximately 4.5 million.

The deanery's core product portfolio centres on the NHS England 'Enhance' (Enhancing Generalist Skills) programme, offered in a self-guided 'Enable' form and an in-depth 'Explore' form with placements and six face-to-face teaching days, delivered in partnership with Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Enhance is structured around six modules (Introduction, Person Centred Practice, Complex Multimorbidity, Population Health, System Working/Environmental Sustainability/Social Justice, and Contextual Leadership). Supporting offerings include the Pre-CCT Clinical Supervisors Toolkit, KSS Fellowships, the Medical Training Review engagement exercise, a Sexual Safety Workshop, annual Educator and Resident Doctor Conferences, and a research showcasing platform. Operational technology is built on NHS digital infrastructure, including the Horus ePortfolio for trainee records and the London and KSS Support Portal for programme administration.

HEE South East does not operate a commercial revenue model. It is publicly funded through NHS England allocations as part of the UK Department of Health and Social Care's statutory workforce function, and there is no external pricing, sales motion or private equity ownership. Distribution is direct and regional: the deanery coordinates clinical placements, ARCP (Annual Review of Competence Progression) processes, recruitment and faculty development across its mandated provider network. Customer relationships are therefore with NHS trusts, GP practices, higher education partners and individual trainees — none of whom pay a commercial fee, but all of whom are dependent on the deanery for GMC-aligned training delivery.

Name

Health Education England South East

Legal name

Health Education England South East

Website

https://kss.hee.nhs.uk

Company type

Public

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Health Education England South East (KSS Deanery) is a statutory NHS England regional body that plans, coordinates and quality-manages postgraduate medical and dental education for approximately 3,270 doctors in training across Kent, Surrey and Sussex, working with 14 NHS trusts, 250 GP practices and 7 universities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Health Workforce, Training & Capacity Building (HLAJAMAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Healthcare Clinical Professions (CME/CE for Nurses, Allied Health, Pharmacy) (EDAAALAC), Healthcare & Life Sciences (EDAAAPAA), Medical Schools (MD/DO Granting) (EDAHAGAB)

Keywords

• Postgraduate medical education
• Specialty training programmes
• Medical workforce training
• NHS deanery services
• GP training placements

Headquarters

HQ city

Leeds

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Health Education England South East (KSS Deanery) plans, recruits, educates and trains the postgraduate medical and dental workforce across Kent, Surrey and Sussex, coordinating specialty training for approximately 3,270 doctors in Foundation, Core, Higher Specialty and GP Training posts. It manages recruitment, rotations, ARCP assessment, faculty development, the NHS England Enhance generalist skills programme, fellowships, and educator conferences in partnership with 14 NHS trusts, 250 GP practices and seven higher education institutions.

Product overview

Health Education England South East (KSS Deanery) operates as an educational services provider offering a unified platform of postgraduate medical and dental training programmes. The core offering centres on the Enhance programme (Enhancing Generalist Skills) from NHS England, available as self-guided Enhance Enable or in-depth Enhance Explore with placements. Enhance consists of six modules covering Introduction, Person Centred Practice, Complex Multimorbidity, Population Health, System Working/Environmental Sustainability/Social Justice, and Contextual Leadership. Supporting programmes include the Pre-CCT Clinical Supervisors Toolkit, Medical Training Review engagement, Sexual Safety Workshop, and annual KSS Deanery Conferences. The organisation also manages Fellowships for postgraduate trainees and operates a Showcasing Research platform. The portfolio serves approximately 3,270 trainees across Foundation, Core Specialty, Higher Specialty, and GP Training programmes in Kent, Surrey, and Sussex.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Enhance (Enhancing Generalist Skills) Programme An NHS England programme designed to improve generalist skills in healthcare professionals, taking a holistic approach to health and wellbeing. Available as self-guided Enhance Enable or in-depth Enhance Explore with mandatory placements, six in-person teaching days, and courses delivered by Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Covers six modules: Introduction, Person Centred Practice, Complex Multimorbidity, Population Health, System Working/Environmental Sustainability/Social Justice & Health Equity, and Contextual Leadership.
• Toolkit for Pre-CCT Doctors as Clinical Supervisors Programme Programme designed for resident doctors in their final or penultimate year of training to serve as clinical supervisors for Foundation Year doctors, providing them with the tools and frameworks to take on supervisory responsibilities.
• Medical Training Review - South East England NHS England engagement and listening initiative to consider the future of postgraduate medical training across South East England, open to trainees, educators, trusts and other stakeholders to contribute evidence and views.
• South East Sexual Safety Workshop Online workshop for Heads of School, DMEs, MEMs and TPDs on managing sexual misconduct disclosures, barriers to disclosure, and supporting disclosures in supervisory roles.
• KSS Deanery Conferences Annual educator and resident doctor conferences held at Brighton AMEX, featuring workshops, poster competitions and keynote speakers on medical education topics; attracting over 100 in-person delegates each year with equivalent remote participation.
• KSS Fellowships Annual fellowship opportunities for doctors and other professionals during postgraduate training, typically combined with clinical posts providing education or leadership training and showcased via the WE-R NHS Catalogue.
• Showcasing Research Platform Platform for sharing research and project work from resident doctors in KSS, including poster competitions and prize winners to engage trainees in education and leadership.

Quantifiable outcome

• The new Undergraduate Medical Building at Tunbridge Wells Hospital enables the trust to host up to 173 medical students and trainee doctors each year, increasing from 37 to 173 — a six-fold expansion.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 October 2025HEE KSS partners with Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS) to deliver the new Undergraduate Medical Building at Tunbridge Wells Hospital. The partnership enables the trust to increase medical students from 37 to 173 per year — a six-fold expansion. The trust also partners with King's College London and City St George's, University of London for medical education delivery.
• King's College LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 October 2025King's College London partners with Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and HEE KSS for undergraduate medical education placements through the new medical building at Tunbridge Wells Hospital.
• City St George's, University of LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 October 2025City St George's, University of London partners with Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and HEE KSS for undergraduate medical education placements through the new medical building at Tunbridge Wells Hospital.
• Brighton and Sussex Medical SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrighton and Sussex Medical School is a key higher education partner providing training for medical students who undertake placements across KSS NHS trusts. The school delivers face-to-face teaching days for the Enhance Explore foundation programme.
• NHS EnglandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHS England leads the national Enhancing Generalist Skills (Enhance) programme, with HEE KSS implementing the programme regionally. HEE KSS also aligns with NHS England's Business Plan, NHS People Plan, and NHS Long Term Plan.
• General Medical Council (GMC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe GMC is the independent regulator for doctors and sets standards for all UK undergraduate medical education. HEE KSS works to GMC-approved specialty curricula and produces annual reports for the GMC on training quality. GMC conducts annual national surveys of medical trainees across the region.
• Canterbury Christ Church UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a higher education provider partner for Kent, Surrey and Sussex, offering education programmes for healthcare professionals in the region.
• University of KentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a higher education provider partner. KSS delivers the SLAMEH Masters programme (Strategic Leadership and Medical Education in Healthcare) in partnership with University of Kent.
• University of BrightonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a higher education provider partner for Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
• University of SurreyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a higher education provider partner for Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
• University of GreenwichminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a higher education provider partner for Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW): Wales's statutory body for planning, educating and training the healthcare workforce, directly analogous but for a different territory.
• NHS Education for Scotland (NES): Scotland's national body for training and educating the health workforce; same mission and model but serving a different UK nation.
• Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA): Northern Ireland's postgraduate medical and dental training organisation performing the same deanery role in a different jurisdiction.

Others

• Royal College of Physicians: A royal college that sets specialty curricula and delivers medical training and exams, overlapping on curriculum and educator development but as a national professional body.
• General Medical Council (GMC): The UK regulator setting medical education standards and surveying trainees; an ecosystem partner and standard-setter rather than a competitor.
• Brighton and Sussex Medical School: A partner medical school delivering undergraduate medical education and Enhance teaching days in the region; adjacent education provider rather than a competing deanery.

Direct peers

• NHS England Workforce, Training and Education — Wessex: A fellow South East deanery (Thames Valley, Wessex and KSS collaborate on South East Opportunities) delivering the same trainee education and placement remit in an adjacent region.
• NHS England Workforce, Training and Education — Thames Valley: A neighbouring South East deanery performing the identical postgraduate medical education coordination function under the same NHS England structure, differing only by region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NHSE_WTE
• Facebookfacebook.com/nhsewte

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Health Education England South East