Some highlights included:
• Vaccinating one million people against COVID
• Bringing specialist mental health care digitally to young people at home to keep them out of hospital
• Using virtual reality therapy to help agoraphobic patients with psychosis get outside again

Oxford Health hosted its virtual AGM & AMM 2022 on Wednesday, September 21, with Trust Chair David Walker guiding attendees through a packed agenda.

It included the annual, finance and auditor’s reports and presentations, with lots of opportunities for Governors, members of the Foundation Trust and the public to put their questions to a panel of speakers. The reports, including an easy-read version of the finance report, are available here.

If you were unable to attend, a recording of the event is available on Oxford Health’s YouTube channel. Answers to questions posed during the event that weren’t tackled on the night due to time constraints will be published shortly – check back here later.

Chief Executive Dr Nick Broughton presented his summary for the year 2021/22, setting out the year’s many achievements. Not least among them was providing more than one million COVID jabs to local people. Staff are now busy delivering autumn boosters ahead of winter.

Dr Broughton gave his heartfelt thanks to all staff, who had nearly 1.5 million contacts with patients over the year. He praised their “remarkable dedication” to providing the best possible patient care in the face of some extraordinary challenges.

Next, Chief Finance Officer Heather Smith presented the annual accounts and the auditor’s report. This was followed by an update on some of Oxford Health’s most innovative services.

Katrina Anderson, Mental Health Service Director for Oxfordshire and BSW (Bath, North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire) started by explaining how our community services are being transformed in line with the Community Mental Health Framework. Mental health and wellbeing hubs are opening in high streets across Oxfordshire and mental health teams are being set up in GP practices. This will make it easier for people to access, stigma-free support, when and where they need it – watch a video about these innovations.

The next video showed how Oxford Health and its partners in the Thames Valley CAMHS Tier 4 Provider network are improving care for young people. By providing in-patient care for young people closer to home, it is helping them recover quicker and get out of hospital quicker. It is also providing hospital specialist mental health care to young people at home online, avoiding admission to in-patient services.

Executive Managing Director for Primary, Community and Dental Care, Dr Ben Riley, then described the enormous breadth of our community services. More than 2,000 staff provided care last year across 75 sites, nine community hospitals and in thousands of patients’ homes. Dr Riley presented a video about a new urgent response service that can intervene within two hours when elderly patients deteriorate, ensuring they get the care they need at home, preventing a hospital admission.

Finally, with the Trust ambitious to be a leader in research, Director of Research & Development and Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Vanessa Raymont, described some of the achievements over the last year. These included a £4m investment in the Oxford Cognitive Clinical Research Facility and a huge increase in patient involvement in research. The goal for the future is to embed research in all our services, so all patients can benefit from breakthroughs.

A video on R&D revealed how the Oxford Brain Health Centre is helping delay the onset of dementia in their patients and starting to develop new treatments. Then it showed how psychological services in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire are using ground-breaking virtual reality therapy to help patients with psychosis. By simulating outside experiences, the VR therapy gives these agoraphobic patients the confidence to break out of their housebound existence and get outdoors.

Membership

Become a member of our Trust – you help us make things better. Have your say in your local services by becoming a member of Oxford Health. Sign up and find out more here.

Recruiting now!

We have vacancies in our health sciences, medical, dental, clinical and support services. For a rewarding career: Learn & develop with us!

Visit Oxford Health careers website here. Find out more about our Apprenticeships here.

Support Oxford Health Charity

Making a difference for our patients, carers, families and our staff every day here.