Developments In Community Health Services
Introduction
NHS Oxfordshire has been working with Oxfordshire County Council’s Social and Community Services Department and the Oxford Radcliffe Trust to improve the way we deliver services in local communities. We are working to enable people to be cared for in their homes wherever possible.
Why Change?
Through modernisation we will be able to provide a better service for patients and save money by reducing unnecessary, high cost, admissions to acute hospitals, such as the John Radcliffe Hospital. By providing support early on to those who are at risk of having a sudden health decline, such as older people and people with long term medical conditions, we could help people to avoid problems which would lead to the need for an acute hospital admission.
We want to invest in services supporting people to recover in their own homes, such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy. We also want to reduce the time patients spend waiting for diagnosis and treatment, which will reduce the amount of inpatient beds we need in hospitals.
What Are We Doing?
Currently……
We are looking at potential ways forward and gathering important information about services, buildings (including community hospitals) and the local population needs. With such a large programme of work it would not be practical to make all the changes that are needed at once. Where there is a clear need and strong support for change, we will work with GPs and local communities to find the right solutions and determine the priorities for change.
The next steps are…..
Success in reducing admissions to acute hospitals and reducing delays in transferring people out of hospital for ongoing care in the community relies on NHS Oxfordshire commissioning (buying) the right health services to best support local need.
To this end NHS Oxfordshire will work with local GPs to agree what services need to be commissioned in the areas which can be progressed first. This work will be done in the context of the countywide picture.
Public consultation…..
Any consultation process will be clear, thorough and inclusive and will enable local people across Oxfordshire to contribute to the decision making process. Our aim is to work in partnership with local people and GPs to design successful services for the future, which are affordable and represent the best value for public money.
If you or your group/organisation would like someone from NHS Oxfordshire to come and talk to you in more detail about these issues please speak to our Patient and Public Involvement Manager on: 0800 052 6088.