The two junior doctors' strike before Christmas (20-23 December) and in the New Year (3-9 January) affected all our local trusts across the ICB. 

The ICB worked closely with partners across the NHS and care sector during the strikes to ensure services remained safe during very busy times of the year for the NHS. 

We prioritised resources to protect emergency treatment, critical care, neonatal care, maternity, and trauma, and ensured priority for patients who had waited the longest for elective care and cancer surgery. 

Unfortunately, some appointments and procedures have been rescheduled and patients have been informed. Local NHS trusts are working to see patients and service users as quickly as possible. 

This is being held on Tuesday 16 January (10am - 1pm) at Buckinghamshire Council, Gateway Offices, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury, HP19 8FF. 

You can join the meeting in person or through an online live stream by registering on the council website  - and you will receive the direct joining link via email. You can view information about the meeting agenda and papers or how to ask a question.

Eligible people can still get a free Covid or flu jab at some pharmacies and walk-in sites locally.

We have included details of the participating pharmacies and walk-in vaccine clinics currently available across BOB on our Staywell-BOB website. The offer to receive a free Covid or flu vaccine ends on 31 January 2024. 

Please be aware, the NHS online booking system, NHS App and 119 phone service closed for booking a Covid or flu appointments last month (December).

The next Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire West Integrated Care Partnership (BOB ICP) meeting in public is on Wednesday 17 January (1pm/3pm) at the Jubilee Room, Gateway Offices, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury, HP19 8FF.

The ICP is a group of organisations which plan and provide health and care services for around 1.8 million people who live and work in the local authority areas of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire’s three westerly local authority areas of West Berkshire, Reading and Wokingham (known as ‘Berkshire West’).

You can see more information about the agenda for the meeting or how to ask a question or petition the partnership by viewing the website here  

To take part in person or join via a live stream you can register on the Buckinghamshire Council website and you will be sent a joining link. 

A pioneering initiative is transforming the lives of people with severe asthma who were missing out on life-changing medication.

The Integrated Severe Asthma Care (ISAC) project found hundreds of patients across BOB who could benefit from biologic therapies.

Specialist pharmacists worked with primary care teams to run clinics close to patients’ homes and fast track patients to the Oxford Severe Asthma Centre. The project is funded by the NHS and supported by Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley. 

The Research and Innovation Team at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has been awarded a place on the prestigious NHS InSites Programme. This is a national award, recognising NHS trusts who are leading the way on healthcare innovations to benefit patients and staff.

It means an additional £200,000 of funding per year for the Team’s work, and the chance to share ideas and learning with other innovative trusts. The Team provides high quality NHS and industry research across cancer, cardiology, gastroenterology, maternity, ophthalmology and paediatric studies. 

The team at the National Spinal Injuries Centre (NSIC) at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, will collaborate on an international research project with partners, including the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago, funded by a $4.2 million grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research.

The NSIC team will receive £300k over five years to contribute findings to the project from the UK.

The grant will be used to examine rehabilitation outcomes and length of stay for people after discharge from spinal cord injury rehabilitation. The outcomes from this work will have a significant impact on future rehabilitation provided by the NSIC and enable the service to be more effective, as well as enhance people’s quality of life after spinal cord injury.

Dr Jane Duff, NSIC Head of Psychology, said: “Securing this grant provides a significant opportunity for the NSIC, the Trust and for the future of spinal cord injury rehabilitation.”

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is looking at ways to improve maternity services at Wycombe Hospital to give patients the support they need during their pregnancy and in the first few weeks of having a baby.

The Trust is asking for feedback from pregnant people and new parents about the services they would like to see at the hospital via the Maternity Services Survey It is also hosting a number of listening events virtually and in person in central Wycombe on the following dates:

• Tuesday 20 February 2024 10am-12pm Virtual
• Wednesday 21 February 2024 10am-12pm Wycombe
• Monday 26 February 2024 10am-12pm Wycombe
• Tuesday 5  March 2024 7.30-9.30pm Virtual

To book a place at a listening event or to find out more email: bht.patientexperience@nhs.net

Buckinghamshire Council is urging people to download the free health and wellbeing app BetterPoints. It has been helping thousands of people in the county to move more and make simple but effective lifestyle changes to improve their health and wellbeing.

BetterPoints offers incentives in the form of points which can be converted into vouchers to spend in local shops or given to local charities as a monetary donation. Extra points are also on offer for residents who would like to lose weight or give up smoking when they access support via Be Healthy Bucks.

With support from the BOB ICB Integrated Stroke Delivery network, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has been awarded £200,000 from NHS England to pilot a new stroke rehabilitation service. 

This will bring together the work of the Early Supported Discharge team which provides short term intensive rehabilitation for people discharged from the Acute Stroke Unit, and the Community Neuro Rehabilitation Service which provides longer term needs.

Stroke rehabilitation is time critical and at present people wait an average of 12 weeks for community neuro rehab following discharge. The new service will instead enable a seamless transition of care with expected improvements in the delivery of rehabilitation, patient experience, clinical outcomes and fewer referrals to community neuro rehab service as people’s needs are met earlier. 

The service will include home visits, outpatient and virtual sessions and will run for 12 months initially with ongoing evaluation.

A scheme using artificial intelligence in kettles and fridges to monitor patients discharged from the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has reduced unplanned readmissions by 77 per cent.

The Trust partnered with Sodexo to develop ‘Onward Care’ combining private sector resources and data expertise to bridge the gap between health and social care.

The scheme supports frail patients once home by setting up AI sensors on kettles and fridges to detect changes in drinking and eating patterns. Variances are flagged to the Onward Care team who arrange clinical help if needed.

Adrian McCourt, Onward Care managing director said: “On average 40 per cent of frail patients are readmitted within six months of being discharged from hospital. With Onward Care this figure was reduced by 77 per cent.”

Jenny Ricketts, Deputy Chief Operating Officer at the Trust: “It’s challenging to identify and access all the community services available in Buckinghamshire. Onward Care is the glue that helps pull these resources together.” 

Watch a video about the Onward Care service

Since opening last autumn, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust’s ‘health on the high street’ pilot scheme has had over 3,200 members of the public through its doors.

Situated in Unit 33, Friars Square shopping centre Aylesbury local residents can access preventative healthcare advice and screening whilst out shopping.

Services already making good use of the facility include health visitors, vaccinations teams, Bucks Integrated Respiratory service, sexual health, cancer support and homeless clinics. A ‘Pump it up’ blood pressure monitoring kiosk in the unit issues reminders for people to return, allowing opportunities for further health support.

Jenny Ricketts, Deputy Chief Operating Officer at the Trust said: “Health on the High Street aims to improve the health and wellbeing of all our local residents, particularly those in greatest need, through accessible and joined up public services in a vibrant community space.”

Watch a video that explains the concept of Health on the High Street.

A priority action plan has been published by the local area partnership to improve services and support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The partnership includes Oxfordshire County Council, BOB ICB and the Oxfordshire Parent Carers Forum.

The plan, which was approved by Ofsted on 12 December, responds to Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission’s inspection report on SEND partnership services in July 2023. 

The plan sets out what will be achieved across five priority action areas:
1. Gathering and acting on the views of children and young people with SEND and their families.
2. Developing effective communications systems across the partnership.
3. Improved timeliness and quality assurance of education, health and care plans.
4. Commissioning of services to meet the needs of children and young people and their families.
5. Producing plans that are co-produced with children and young people and their families.

Yvonne Christley has been appointed as the new Chief Nursing Officer at OUH, and will take up her post at the start of May 2024. 

Yvonne said: "Joining the Oxford University Hospitals team as Chief Nursing Officer is a great privilege. As a nurse and as a leader, I am deeply committed to maintaining the highest standards of care and creating an environment where excellence, empathy, and innovation can flourish for patients and colleagues.” 

The first Oxfordshire patient has been treated in an mRNA cancer vaccine trial at the Churchill Hospital (pictured) in Oxford.

This groundbreaking trial, which is focused on patients with head and neck cancer, marks a significant milestone in the National Cancer Vaccine Advance, an initiative that involves up to 10,000 patients taking part in precision cancer immunotherapy clinical trials by 2030.

The trial, led locally at Oxford University Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust by Consultant Clinical Oncologist Dr Ketan Shah, aims to assess if the vaccine can improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy treatments which help the immune system to fight cancer. 

Britta Klinck started her new role as Chief Nursing Officer at Oxford Health this month. 

Britta has worked at Oxford Health NHS FT for 30 years, joining as a healthcare assistant before qualifying as a registered mental health nurse in 1994.

Britta (pictured) has held various senior roles at the trust, including Deputy Chief Nurse and was appointed to her current role in December 2023.

The Well Together programme has been launched to tackle health inequalities in parts of Banbury, Oxford and Abingdon. 

It will fund community-led health and wellbeing activities for people of all ages such as stopping smoking, helping children get dental care, and tackling obesity through physical activity. 

Oxfordshire Community & Voluntary Action and Community First Oxfordshire  launched the programme, and the ICB has made up to £100,000 available to target 10 priority neighbourhoods in the three locations. 

11 short videos have been made to help increase understanding of a condition benign prostatic enlargement (BPE), also known as enlarged prostate. 

The animated films developed by Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley explain the prostate, symptoms of BPE, diagnosis, lifestyle issues, medication and surgical treatment options. The videos can be viewed on YouTube and been translated into Arabic, Mandarin and Urdu. 

Professor John Geddes, NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre Director, spoke last month about the NIHR MH-TRC Mental Health Mission and the role Oxford plays, and the challenges of translating mental health research into practice; and what can be done to make mental health research studies more inclusive.

You can read more about their achievements and challenges of the past couple of years, and what Professor Geddes (pictured) sees on the horizon. 

Adults and staff from Oxfordshire County Council’s Wantage Community Support Service at the Charlton Centre have been taking a look back through the archives as they celebrate the venue’s 40^th anniversary.

Over the past 40 years, the service has supported more than 200 adults and has served as a lifeline for people with additional needs.

A campaign to help patients better understand the different roles of healthcare professionals working at GP practices has been launched. It also looks at how modern GP practices are changing to make it easier for patients to access a wider range of help and care closer to home.

As part of the campaign, a series of videos featuring a wide range of practice staff are being produced. They showcase the range of work done by people like physician associates, paramedics, care navigators and mental health practitioners. You can watch the first video which explains the role of a GP assistant.

The campaign will also be rolled out across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire West. 

An innovative new health care programme is being rolled out in Berkshire West thanks to a £2.6m investment from the ICB’s Inequalities Fund.

The Community Wellness Outreach initiative is aimed at early identification of people who may have cardiovascular disease (CVD). The project will be rolled out at community sessions over the coming months.

Sarah Webster, Executive Director for the Berkshire West Place, said: “Our focus is on cutting the prevalence of cardiovascular disease but doing it in a very accessible way – so sessions will be in community spaces where local people feel safe, and will be delivered with a personal approach with informal discussions around lifestyle choices and changes. Importantly the people providing these vital checks will also be able to signpost residents to other supportive services and will also offer a follow up conversation.”

Dozens of extra appointments are being provided at Berkshire West GP practices this month thanks to additional funding from the ICB.

The additional appointments for urgent on-the-day care, are aimed at easing pressure on healthcare partners across the area during our busiest time of year.

Sarah Webster, Executive Director for Berkshire West Place said: “I’m really pleased we’ve been able to allocate extra funding for these additional appointments at a time of year when we typically see higher demand for urgent care.

"These extra appointments across Wokingham, Reading and West Berkshire, along with our ongoing investment in the Urgent Care Centre based in Reading, are aimed at supporting people with urgent but non-life threatening illnesses."

Parents and carers with a child aged 0-5 and registered with a Berkshire GP can speak directly to a speech and language therapist to discuss concerns with their child's speech and language.

Berkshire Healthcare  NHS FT supports children and young people to understand what is being said to them, express themselves and produce the sounds needed for clear speech. In some cases, speech and language therapists also work to help children with their eating and drinking. 

There is more information about the service and how to access it via a new phone number which is available on the Berkshire Healthcare website