Working In Partnership

NHS Oxfordshire can’t work alone. We work with our communities, and our partners to improve health in the area, and in turn to play our part in improving the health of our local population. NHS Oxfordshire works with partners at both a county and district level to ensure that work in the community is as effective as it can be.

Much of the partnership work is led by the Partnerships and Health Inequalities team within the Public Health Directorate. An outline of the team and responsibilites is available in pdf format below:

Partnership Team (PDF File; 84 KB)

Local Strategic Partnerships

NHS Oxfordshire is a member of the Oxfordshire Partnership, which brings together organisations from the public, private, voluntary and community sectors to focus their efforts on those things that are important to people who live in, work in and visit Oxfordshire and more importantly, to do something about them.

The Partnership works together towards achieving outcomes identified in the Oxfordshire Local Area Agreement which is the responsibility of the Public Service Board on behalf of the Oxfordshire Partnership.

More information about the Partnership and other related strategic partnerships, the Local Area Agreement and the Public Service Board can be found at www.oxfordshirepartnership.org.uk

NHS Oxfordshire is also a member of each of the district countil Local Stragetic Partnerships:

Local Area Agreements (LAA)

The introduction of Local Area Agreements (LAA) has brought a new role for NHS Oxfordshire. Local Area Agreements commit public bodies like Oxfordshire County Council and district councils, the NHS, the police and the voluntary and community sector to making real improvements to the lives of thousands of people in the county.

LAA are divided into four themes: Children and Young People, Economy and Enterprise, Healthier Communities and Older People and Stronger Communities.

For more information on LAA please visit: Local Area Agreement

Healthy Living Partnership

NHS Oxfordshire is a member of the Oxford Healthy Living Partnership who run a range of healthly living projects in Barton, Blackbird Leys, Rose Hill and with some vulnerable groups across the city. The partnership supports food safety, healthy cooking, community catering and run Oxford's Health Trainer service for one-to-one support with lifestyle changes. Visit the Oxford Healthy Living Partnership website for full details of what the partnership offers and to check out their healthy living top tips.

Drug Alcohol Action Team (DAAT)

NHS Oxfordshire works closely with the Drug Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) and Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, to develop our high quality ‘shared care’ service where specialist nurses work in GP practices alongside GPs to tackle substance misuse.

Community Safety

Effective partnership working on community safety is key to sustainable and safer communities. On the 30th April 2004 PCTs became responsible authorities within Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) under section 5(1) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, as amended by section 97 of the Police Reform Act 2002. This means that as a responsible authority NHS Oxfordshire formally participates in the five CDRPs across the county, working strategically with other partners to:

Integrate the health and crime agendas
contribute to the regeneration of communities
Meet the needs and improve the health of the local population

Tackling crime and disorder and the misuse of drugs and alcohol is important to achieving healthy and safe neighborhoods. Linking the agendas of health, drugs and crime can produce benefits as follows:

Reducing crime and the harm caused by drugs misuse improves public health
Reducing fear of cime among elderly people can reduce isolation and improve their mental health, as well as saving long-term care beds
Early intervention with victims of hate crime and domestic violence reduces long-term physical rehabilitation costs and mental health costs, especially if it targets and prevents repeat victimisation
Crime costs health service hundreds of millions of pounds every year and takes resources from patient care
Reducing alcohol-related crime reduces injury and alcohol-related harm

For further information on Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships please visit: Crime and Disorder Reduction

Carers Strategy Steering Group

The Oxfordshire Carers Strategy Steering Group representing Social & Health Care, the NHS, carers and carer organisations meets quarterly to help develop the use of the Carers Special Grant and a Carers Strategy for Oxfordshire. For further information please contact; Marcia Davis, Carers Strategy Development Worker - marcia.davis@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Community & Voluntary Sector

NHS Oxfordshire is a member of the Oxfordshire Voluntary Sector Development Partnership (OVSDP) whose purpose is to strengthen the Oxfordshire Voluntary and Community sector. The partnership does this by:

Overseeing the development of the Oxfordshire Infrastructure Development Plan;
Reviewing progress against the stated milestones in the local ChangeUp continuation fund programme;
Endorsing funding bids on behalf of the Partnership;
Conducting periodic reviews of the Oxfordshire Infrastructure Development Plan;
Supporting local organisations to achieve Compact compliance (see below);
Reviewing and implementing the Oxfordshire Compact work programme in so far as funding is made available for this;
Acting as a sounding board for issues raised through the VCS forums;
Providing a point of contact for consultation on VCS issues and policy for the Oxfordshire Partnership and other strategic bodies.

Oxfordshire Compact

The Oxfordshire Compact has been developed with the support of many different organisations in Oxfordshire to improve relationships between statutory agencies and the voluntary and community sector. NHS Oxfordshire has signed up to Compact alongside a growing number of statutory, voluntary and community organisations in Oxfordshire. There are five codes that are being developed as part of the Oxfordshire Compact:

Community groups
Consultation and policy appraisal
Engaging organisations representing black and minority ethnic groups
Funding
Volunteering

Please visit Oxfordshire County Council website for a copy of the Oxfordshire Compact.

Oxfordshire Rural Transport Partnership

NHS Oxfordshire is a member of the Oxfordshire Rural Transport Partnership, a joint project hosted by Oxfordshire Rural Community Council, bringing together the District and County Councils and other interested parties. The Partnership aims to improve transport in rural areas and can make funds available for projects. Projects in the Vale of White Horse have included the Faringdon Community Bus and the Radcot to Faringdon cycling scheme. For more information please visit: Oxfordshire Rural Community Council

Domestic Violence

NHS Oxfordshire remains committed to working with other agencies, including District Councils, Oxfordshire County Council, Thames Valley Police, Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS TGrust, Women's Aid and Victim Support to deliver a county wide multi-agency response to Domestic Violence and supports the annual county domestic violence awareness campaign, the children's strategy, the introduction of domestic violence courts, independent advocates and the domestic abuse champions network. Click here for more information.