People aged 75 and over or those who are immunosuppressed won't have to wait for an NHS letter or text invite to book a Covid-19 spring booster.

Bookings can be made now using the telephone number 119 or via the National Booking Service here: National Booking Service

The NHS site also lists walk-in sites that don't need an appointment.

The BOB Stay Well website lists local walk-in clinics plus other information including the types off vaccine on offer and vaccination services for housebound people – for this group, patients will either be contacted by their GP practice about having the vaccine or the practice will contact an NHS provider to carry out a vaccination.  

People across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) are urged to use the right service for their health needs this bank holiday weekend. 

The advice is to contact NHS 111 online or by phone to be directed to the right service.  

Local high street pharmacies can provide advice and support for a range of conditions including a sore throat, skin issues and earache.

Some pharmacies across BOB ICB can also offer treatment for 7 common conditions without the need to see a GP - more details on the Stay Well website 

To find out which pharmacists are open across BOB this bank holiday visit the NHS England website here Remember, only call 999 in the event of a serious of life-threatening emergency. 

It’s May Measurement Month, an international campaign to make people aware of the dangers of undetected high blood pressure. 

As part of the Big Squeeze campaign, the NHS in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West is encouraging people aged 40 and over to get their blood pressure checked for free at a local pharmacy.

Find a local pharmacy that offers free blood pressure checks by searching “pharmacy blood pressure check” or visiting the NHS website Find a pharmacy that offers free blood pressure checks - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and vascular dementia, so getting blood pressure checked saves lives. And if someone is diagnosed, the good news is that it’s usually easily treatable. 

This is being held on Tuesday 21 May (10am -1pm) at Buckinghamshire Council's Jubilee Room, Gateway Offices, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury, HP19 8FF. 

You can join the meeting in person or through an online live stream see here 

Details about the agenda and papers will be made available closer to the meeting on the BOB ICB website - you will also be able to submit a question relating to agenda items for the meeting. 

The ICB has now relocated to new offices at Unipart House, Garsington Road, Cowley, Oxford, OX4 2PG (pictured). 

Unipart House is close to the Oxford ring road (Eastern Bypass) and several bus routes.

BOB ICB contact details including emails and telephone numbers for various services remain the same which you can view on the BOB ICB website 

BOB ICB is encouraging local people to get talking about death, dying and grief in whatever way, shape or form works for them for Dying Matters Awareness Week (6 -12 May 2024).

The national campaign works to open up conversations around death and dying. This year’s theme focuses on the language that we use, and conversations we have, around death and dying with healthcare professionals. For more information and useful resources, please see Dying Matters Awareness Week | Hospice UK

British para-table tennis players Will Bayley MBE and Bly Twomey visited the National Spinal Injuries Centre (NSIC), located at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in April.

They were joined by Tim Holtam from the Brighton Table Tennis Club who was visiting his fellow club member 18-year-old Jack Silberston. The teenager is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the NSIC but is already a very accomplished table tennis player and won three gold medals at the Malmo Open this year.

During the visit, Bly showcased her table tennis skills, and with Will took part in one-to-one coaching sessions with patients. For more details see the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust website

Pictured (l/r) Tim Holtam, Will Bayley, Jack Silberston,Kirsten (Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist), Bly Twomey - photos by Caleb Yule Photography. 

The new Health Inequalities Communities of Practices in Aylesbury, High Wycombe and Chesham will hold their first meetings in May, and everyone working directly with communities which experience health inequalities is welcome to take part – see below to reserve a place.

The networks were set up by Community Impact Bucks and Buckinghamshire Health & Social Care Academy. These are for people working or volunteering in health, social care and support organisations to come together to learn, share experience and deepen understanding of these complex issues in their day-to-day work.

The meetings will explore multi-faith perspectives of mental health and accessing support, and will include sessions around sharing experiences and knowledge – book below: (full venue details are in the booking form)

• High Wycombe Health Inequalities Community of Practice on Friday 10 May (11am - 12 midday) at Buckinghamshire Community Wellbeing Hub – book your free place via Eventbrite.
• Aylesbury Health Inequalities Community of Practice on Thursday 16 May (11am - 12 midday) at Buckinghamshire Community Wellbeing Hub – book your free place via Eventbrite.  
• Chesham Health Inequalities Community of Practice is being held on Wednesday 22nd May (11am -12 midday). The venue has yet to be confirmed but details will be available on the Community Impact Bucks website shortly so please check here 

A free-standing, modular pod will be installed next to the Cancer Care and Haematology Unit (CCHU) at Stoke Mandeville Hospital near Aylesbury - see pictured.

The calm and comfortable space inside the pod is to be used by patients, families and staff for informal and relaxed meetings away from the bustle of the CCHU treatment area.

This new facility, designed to a high environmental standard, is being provided by the cancer care and haematology fund charity which has donated £100,000 for this special area. The charity supports people who are being treated for cancer and haematology illnesses in Buckinghamshire.

For more details visit the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust website

Staff at Buckinghamshire Health Care NHS Trust raised awareness of the care they provide for people with Parkinson’s on World Parkinson’s Day.

The service has forged close ties with local representatives of Parkinson’s Branch and Parkinson’s UK, working together to provide additional resources, advice on access, new equipment, and a better understanding of the lived experience. The support includes:

• help with a successful application for funding to appoint an ‘in reach’ Parkinson’s nurse on a 2-year fixed term role
• specialist speech and language therapists (pictured) were awarded a Parkinson’s Excellence Network large grant to develop a new swallow assessment for patients with Parkinson’s who are admitted to hospital 
• a generous donation of furniture and equipment
• close partnership working to improve Parkinson’s service information.

For more details visit the Trust website see here

Oxfordshire County Council’s Director of Public Health is calling on residents to take individual action to tackle climate change for the benefit of their health.

In his annual report 2023/24, Ansaf Azhar has called climate change one of the most significant threats to the population both in Oxfordshire and globally.

He said: “The actions that we can all take to improve climate health also immediately improve our health and the health of others.  

“All of us should take positive climate action not just because of the environmental benefits realised years ahead, but the health benefits we will get from it immediately. This means better health for everyone – whether we are talking about newborn babies, children, teenagers, working-age adults or older people.”

The full report is available to view on the county council’s website.

Oxfordshire County Council is trialling a new way to reduce traffic congestion in and around Oxford from November 2024.

The aim is to reduce congestion by trialling camera-operated traffic filters on six roads in Oxford. They are designed to work together with other measures to reduce traffic.

Lowering the use of private cars on six roads will help make bus journeys faster and make walking and cycling safer. Traffic filters are also intended to help reduce local air pollution and improve the health and wellbeing of our communities.

Depending on how you travel into and around Oxford, traffic filters may impact on
your journey in different ways.

Free permits will be available for residents, Blue Badge holders, health and care
workers and many other groups, which allows them to drive through the filters. All other vehicles, including taxis, buses, coaches, vans, mopeds, motorbikes, heavy
goods vehicles (HGVs) and emergency vehicles, can pass through the traffic filters
at all times.

The traffic filters webpages on the county council’s website are regularly updated. You can also subscribe to the county council’s newsletter to receive regular news.

The latest Keystone Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub will open on Cowley Road, Oxford with a celebrity launch on Tuesday 14 May. 

The hub will offer a welcoming and non-judgemental public venue with a social enterprise community café alongside mental health and wellbeing support services.

For more details about the Keystone hubs visit the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust website 

Lung checks are now available to people in Banbury as part of a national NHS scheme which aims to improve earlier diagnosis of lung conditions and save lives.

The Targeted Lung Health Check Programme gives current and past smokers the chance of having lung conditions detected and treated earlier.

Scans are now underway at the Horton General Hospital in Banbury with plans for mobile units in community settings in the future.

People who are current or past smokers will initially receive an invitation to take part in a lung health check questionnaire, and depending on the results will receive follow-up checks.

Ofsted has judged Oxfordshire County Council’s children’s services as 'good' following an inspection in February 2024.

The assessment took place as part of the Government’s inspecting local authority children’s services (ILACS) system.

Inspectors praised the county council for a number of improvements across its services since its last inspection in 2018, which were also judged overall as 'good'.

The county council’s children’s services were judged as 'good' across all five areas of inspection criteria:

1. Overall effectiveness.
2. Impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families.
3. Experiences and progress of children who need help and protection.
4. Experiences and progress of children in care.
5. Experiences and progress of care leavers.

Around 5,000 people are to take part in a clinical trial to identify quick and accurate blood tests to diagnose Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

Currently a third of patients with dementia never get a formal diagnosis. It is hoped that, as a result of the trial, more people will be able to access care, support and new drug treatments at an earlier stage.

Dementias Platform UK (DPUK) researchers at the University of Oxford have been awarded funding to conduct the trial from the Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

Patients attending memory assessment clinics at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford are already taking part in the DPUK FAST study, looking into blood biomarkers, and these Oxford volunteers are expected to take part in this new Blood Biomarkers Challenge. 

For more details visit the Oxford University Hospitals website

Inspirational adults, who have overcome challenges to find meaningful employment, were recognised at an awards ceremony in April.

Hosted by Oxfordshire County Council, the event celebrated people taking part in the local authority’s Oxfordshire Employment programme, which helps people with long-term health issues or a disability to find and retain work.

The awards, which are now into their 10th year, celebrated the achievements of seven adults in finding and retaining employment. It included Michael Jackman (pictured), who has been working for the county council’s commercial print company, County Print Finishers, for 45 years. 

For more details visit the county council website 

The third phase of a project designed to improve palliative care in Oxfordshire and South Northamptonshire is now live.

Hospice Outreach is part of the Rapid Intervention for Palliative and End of Life Care (RIPEL) launched in 2022 with the aim of supporting people at the very end of their life whose choice is to die at home rather than in hospital.

Hospice Outreach is a specialised pathway for patients who have been identified by existing services and who would further benefit from specialist palliative care support. The service operates as a virtual ward which allows patients to get the care they need at home. Specialist palliative care is then provided virtually or in person, depending on what is best for the patient.

RIPEL is a unique partnership between Oxford University Hospitals (OUH), Sobell House Hospice Charity, Macmillan Cancer Support and Social Finance.

Three individuals and three teams from Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) were finalists in the national Unsung Hero Awards in March which recognise colleagues who work ‘behind the frontline’ to support clinical staff.

OUH won the Special Recognition Award for employers and the OUH Neurosciences Admin Team won the Admin & Clerical Team Award (pictured) For more details see here 

At the Health Service Journal Partnership Awards also in March, an initiative to provide an enhanced pre-operative assessment service for patients before hip and knee surgery at OUH was also recognised.

The initiative to give patients more tailored support won the Bronze Award in the Most Effective Contribution to Clinical Redesign category. This is a collaboration between OUH, PRO-MAPP Health and Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley - for more details see here 

Voting for Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust's Council of Governors elections opened on 23 April 2024 and will close on 17 May.

Members of the Trust are voting for two public seats available in Oxfordshire. A record number of people put themselves forward to represent the Trust's patients, carers, members of the public and staff as governors across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. 

Participation shapes the future of the Trust and membership is open to all local people, professionals, service-users, patients and carers. For details on how to become a Trust member and more information about the elections see here 

You are welcome to discover the amazing research taking place locally to improve patient care. The event is being held at the Westgate Centre in Oxford OX1 1TR on Thursday 30 May (10am - 3.30pm).

It will showcase the latest advances in the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory disease and current research around mental health, endometriosis, and dementia. For more details visit the Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre website

The First Stop Service in Reading is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year having helped hundreds of people over the past decade.

The service includes volunteers from Reading Street Pastors who patrol the town centre on Friday and Saturday nights to help people who are out for an evening but find they need support. 

The pastors are supported by paramedics from the NHS South Central Ambulance Service Foundation Trust who provide additional medical assistance such as first aid.

The team is based at St Mary's Church House in the town centre with facilities for people to drop in for further support or a friendly chat on Friday and Saturday evenings For more details about the servcie watch a video here

Watch a video with Dr Elspeth Brooker, a Consultant Paediatrician at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust who explains about hay fever allergy in children including symptoms, causes and how to treat the condition.

You can watch the short video here