Welcome to the Oxfordshire System Stakeholder Briefing. We would welcome your feedback at bobicb.media-team@nhs.net
 Industrial action in the NHS
British Medical Association (BMA) consultants and junior doctors members working at both Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) and Oxford Health NHS FT are due to take part in a 72-hour strike from 7am on Monday 2 October to 7am on Thursday 5 October.
Both trusts are working closely with staff and the BMA to ensure that patient safety is paramount at all times, while supporting the right of staff to take industrial action if they choose to do so.
All patients affected will have been contacted in advance of these latest strikes.
Oxfordshire local area partnership commits to significant improvements for children with special educational needs and disabilities
 Following an inspection of services by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission in July, Oxfordshire’s local area partnership has apologised to families and committed to significant change to improve support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The inspection formed part of a new national framework of inspections for children and young people with SEND introduced in 2023. Inspectors identified widespread systemic failings across the local area partnership leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND, which must be urgently addressed.
Since Ofsted’s inspection, the partnership has identified it is building the right relationships together which will be needed to drive significant improvement to services.
The partnership will revisit its strategic vision and ensure it has a clear plan with deliverable priorities. It will do this by engaging with parents, carers, their children and young people with SEND and supporting organisations. It will also work together on the development of an action plan to address the specific concerns raised as part of the inspection.
Read more about the findings of the inspection on Oxfordshire County Council's website.
Botley and Kennington primary care update
Patients registered at the Botley and Kennington surgeries have now received a formal letter from the NHS explaining which practices they will be moving to with details about the new arrangements for their care.
The new arrangements will ensure all patients have access to high quality general practice services. All the practices taking over services offer highly skilled multidisciplinary teams including doctors, nurses and other clinicians such as paramedics and pharmacists.
The changes have been necessary following the decision by the partners at Botley Medical Centre to terminate their contract. New providers were found to run services from the existing Botley and Kennington buildings and boundaries were agreed.
For more information please see the Buckinghamshire Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board website.
If patients have any concerns abut these changes they should contact Oxfordshire patient services on 0800 0526088 or email bobicb-ox.palscomplaints@nhs.net
Patient transport services - have your say
Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB) is reviewing its Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service to improve the experience of people who need transport to, from and between different NHS and health and care settings.
In redesigning current services, BOB ICB needs to gather the experiences and insights of transport users and their families / carers. They provide invaluable insights to identify new and innovative ways to review the service for everyone who uses it.
If you, somebody you care for or someone you know is a user of non-emergency transport services in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire or Berkshire West, please take a few minutes to find out more and complete the survey by 27 October .
£500k on offer to strengthen community groups in Oxfordshire
Grassroots organisations in Oxfordshire can now apply for a share of £500,000, helping to support residents to live well and independently in their communities.
Following the success of last year’s community capacity grants, Oxfordshire County Council has relaunched the fund for 2023/24, which will be administered by Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action, Community First Oxfordshire and Oxfordshire Community Foundation.
The funding is divided into two pots. The first is called the connected communities fund. This offers groups faster access to grants of up to £5,000. The second is a larger community capacity grants fund that will consider applications from organisations looking for up to £20,000.
Further information about the funds and how to apply is available on the county council’s website.
Oxford Stroke Unit among first to hit key NHS target
 The Stroke Unit at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) is among the first in England to hit an NHS target for a life-changing treatment.
Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) can reduce disability and prevent or limit long-term care needs following a stroke. One of the priorities outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan in 2019 was to increase the proportion of eligible patients receiving MT from one per cent to 10 per cent.
Latest figures show MT rates for patients admitted directly to OUH topped the target for the first time in 2022, hitting 12 per cent. There was a six-fold increase in the number of thrombectomies carried out in this period from 14 in 2019 to 87 in 2022.
Dr Phil Mathieson, Clinical Lead for Stroke at OUH, said the Trust was delighted to be among the first stroke hubs to meet the national thrombectomy target, which meant many more patients were being given the best chance of recovery following stroke.
UK’s first womb transplant carried out in Oxford
 The UK’s first ever womb transplant has been carried out at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford by a team from OUH and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
A 34-year-old woman who was born without a functioning womb now has the possibility of getting pregnant and carrying her own baby. Both she and the donor, her older sister, have recovered well.
The organ retrieval and subsequent transplant took place at the Oxford Transplant Centre as part of the UK living donor programme, sponsored and funded by the charity Womb Transplant UK with approval from the Human Tissue Authority.
OUH surgeon Isabel Quiroga, pictured above with Professor Richard Smith, consultant gynaecological surgeon at Imperial College, said it was a privilege to carry out the transplant. She added that she was looking forward to the time when the procedure becomes more common and more women have the opportunity to have their own baby.
Oxford research study reveals long-term effects of COVID-19
The Oxford-based C-MORE study has found that nearly a third of patients who had been hospitalised with severe COVID-19 displayed abnormalities in multiple organs five months after infection.
MRI scans of patients on the trial showed that lung abnormalities were almost 14-fold higher among patients discharged from hospital for COVID-19 than in the control group, while abnormal findings involving the brain and kidneys were three and two times higher respectively.
The C-MORE study, supported by the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, is part of the national PHOSP-COVID platform, which is investigating the long-term effects of COVID-19 on and looking at how tests and new treatments for Long COVID can be developed.
 Oxford Health’s new Meadow Unit set to open
Oxford Health NHS FT's new mental health facility for young people – the Meadow Unit - is set to open its doors shortly.
The eight-bed psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU) at the Warneford Hospital has been built thanks to financial support from NHS England and will enable young people experiencing the most acute phase of a serious mental disorder to receive specialist help closer to home.
The Meadow Unit provides a safe and nurturing environment including recreational facilities and education. Patients will have access to professionally qualified staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week, offering skilled mental and physical health care. There will be an interactive and sociable environment where everyday communication between young people and staff is encouraged.
Public talk on Hospital at Home research
The Oxford Biomedical Research Centre is hosting a free public talk at the Saïd Business School in Oxford on Wednesday 11 October from 6.30 -7.15 pm with guest speaker Professor Dan Lasserson, Clinical Lead for the Acute Hospital at Home service at OUH.
Professor Lasserson, pictured below, is one of the first doctors in the country to provide hospital care at home using a range of point-of-care diagnostic technology. He will outline how digital innovations and technologies can be deployed in patients’ homes and in care homes to deliver more patient-focused and personalised solutions.
 Adult inpatient survey – what people say about their experiences at OUH
Patients’ views on their experience of their care at OUH were included in the Adult Inpatient Survey 2022 results which were published nationally by the Care Quality Commission on 12 September.
The survey covered a wide range of topics, such as waiting times, privacy and dignity, cleanliness, the standard of care received, food and drink, staffing levels, and patient discharges.
OUH performed better than other NHS trusts in areas such as food provision, the number of nurses on duty, information provided about patients’ conditions, involving families and carers in patients’ discharge from hospital, and post-discharge support. One of the highest rated questions scored 9.4 out of 10, relating to whether patients had faith in the doctors treated them.
Banbury and Oxford EDs benefit from new facilities for patients
 The Emergency Departments at the Horton General Hospital in Banbury and the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford have new facilities to improve people's experiences – in response to feedback from patients, visitors and staff.
Improvements at the Horton General include new wayfinding signs to explain what to expect when in OUH Emergency Departments, additional call buzzers for patients to alert staff if needed, improved Wi-fi, and new coffee machines. Further improvements are planned at the Horton.
Similar improvement have been made at the John Radcliffe, as well as new phone charger units, improved lighting and redecoration, new seating in waiting areas, and hot food delivery via catering services based at the hospital.
New Transitional Care Unit for mums and babies
A new unit allowing mothers to be with their babies, who need extra care after birth, has opened at the John Radcliffe Hospital.
The Transitional Care Unit, based on the Postnatal Ward on Level 5 of the Women’s Centre at the JR, can provide support if the baby is premature, has a low birth weight, needs tube feeding, or is showing signs of infection.
The unit has seven beds and a wellbeing room. The local charity SSNAP funded the decoration of the unit and the production of the wellbeing room. OUH staff and charity volunteers are pictured below.
 New Carers’ Café launched at OUH
A new Carers’ Café was held for the first time at the John Radcliffe Hospital on earlier this month.
The pop-up lunchtime café provided a designated space for anyone with caring responsibilities – including patients, visitors and OUH staff – to enjoy a free hot drink and a chat with people in a similar situation, as well as representatives from local support organisations.
Thank you to OUH partners Mitie for providing the venue and refreshment, to Oxford Hospitals Charity and to Trust volunteers for their support, and to colleagues at Dementia Oxfordshire, Carers Oxfordshire and Be Free Young Carers for providing helpful support and advice at the event.
To find out more about this initiative, please contact the OUH Patient Experience team.
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