The ICB and the VCSE Health Alliance are working within the Integrated Care Partnership to build an integrated care system in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West.
There is a long, shared history of integration and partnership between the VCSE and NHS, especially within Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West – including Wokingham, Reading and West Berkshire districts.
We want to build on these current local partnerships, and those between the NHS and VCSE on specific aspects of delivery.
We will learn honestly from our experiences of partnership and the different perspectives we bring. Our focus is on how we can improve outcomes and reduce health inequalities by working better together. We are not starting from a blank page, but we are working in the new context of the Health & Care Act 2022, which brings new partnership opportunities we want to grasp.
How do we work?
We foster collaboration among VCSE organisations and between the VCSE sector and the NHS
The NHS belongs to the people.1 In BOB, it is made up of a small number of very large Trusts with significant legal duties and a substantial public budget, as well as 182 dental practices, 160 pharmacies and 157 GP surgeries organised into 50 primary care networks. Collectively the NHS in BOB spends around £3bn per year and employs around 60,000 people.
We recognise the differing professional, regulatory and cultural contexts of the VCSE and the NHS and consider them to be complementary. We know that we have more in common as we are all committed to improving the health and wellbeing of the population of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West.
Influence
Our representatives in ICS governance structures bring the voice and experience of VCSE organisations.
Research
Our Research helps everyone understand what the VCSE is and how it contributes to health and wellbeing.
Partnership Principles
There is a Memomandum of Understanding between the Alliance on behalf of the VCSE sector and the ICB on behalf of the NHS. It sets out seven areas where we want to grow trust, be purposeful, building inclusivity and foster community.
