Get Involved

patients meeting

We believe that communicating and engaging with our local population is key to achieving our vision. We are committed to putting the patient first and applying the principle of ‘No decision about me without me’ in our commissioning approach. We use the NHS England Principles for Participation to guide our public involvement activities. Oxfordshire CCG has made our commitment to effective engagement clear in our strategies, policies and in the way we work and our staff are supported in public engagement through staff induction and for individual projects.

The population of Oxfordshire is diverse and each community has different needs. It is important for us to understand this diversity to ensure health services are planned properly and provide equity in terms of access, experience and outcomes for everyone.

By making sure that the voices of patients, carers and voluntary organisations are heard and that their opinions and suggestions are considered, we are better able to consistently commission high quality services. The experiences and knowledge of patients and the public are at the heart of the decisions we make and are invaluable in identifying areas of waste and key in finding solutions.

The NHS Long Term Plan has implications for communications and engagement. The introduction of Primary Care Networks has led to changes in the way OCCG engages with PPGs. Although a review of the communications and engagement strategy was due this year, potential changes to the commissioning architecture for the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West CCGs mean a full review is not appropriate at this stage. As such a ‘light touch’ revision of the Communications and Engagement Strategy (2020-2021) for OCCG has been undertaken and approved the OCCG Board. For more information about developing patient, public and community engagement in Oxfordshire please go here. For report of OCCG's communications and engagement activity for 2019 please go here.

How you can get involved

There are many ways that you can get involved and influence your local NHS services in Oxfordshire:

  1. Join your local Patient Participation Group (PPG)  at your GP practice and get involved in the work of your local Primary Care Network
  2. Talking Health - our current online consultation and engagement activities Including:
    • Surveys
    • Discussion Forums
    • Public events and workshops
    • Polls
    • Commenting on leaflets and documents
  3. Talking Health newsletter – keeping you up-to-date on all current engagement activities
  4. Social Media - follow us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to hear about the latest events, surveys and meetings
  5. Board meetings are being held online during the pandemic and you can join us; to submit your question to the Board click here
  6. Make a complaint about GP or hospital services
  7. Patient experience survey
  8. NHS England surveys and consultations
  9. Healthwatch Oxfordshire - an independent organisation that gathers patient feedback to influence health and social care services
  10. Oxfordshire Wellbeing Network - local community groups and organisations can influence and inform the work of the Oxfordshire Health and Wellbing Board
  11. Involvement opportunities at your local hospital
  12. The Equality Reference Group (ERG) - a patient reference group to address any equality and diversity issues in relation to patients and services.
  13. Volunteer as a Patient rep on one of our health projects or programme boards. Email us to let us know your area of interest and we will be in touch as soon as a relevant opportunity arises.
  14. Information and engagement materials can be made available in different formats to enable people to engage with the work of the CCG. Please email us. with your request.

Training and Support

Everyone who volunteers with us will be offered an induction meeting where you will learn more about Oxfordshire’s health and care partners and how we are working as an Integrated Care Partnership. We will tell you about the structure of the NHS and the roles and responsibilities of the CCG.

We will also provide suitable training to support you throughout your time volunteering with us.

You will be offered support on practical issues such as help with claiming expenses, accessing meeting papers, support during meetings, answering queries and any additional advice as needed.

When we are advised about national training opportunities, we will let you know about them.

Patient Participation Groups (PPGs)

A PPG is a group of patients who represent the patient voice in their GP practice. They’re an important link between a practice and its patients.  Our PPGs are a key part of local engagement. They contribute a valuable role in helping to support their practices and provide patient views. As a CCG we want to support PPGs in this vital role.

Healthwatch Oxfordshire provides additional support to PPGs on behalf of the CCG. They have helpful information on their website.

Other useful resources are

National Association for Patient Participation

 Primary Care Networks (PCNs)

PCNs will need to communicate and engage with their local population. We can support this work by offering guidance and advice.

 Expenses

The CCG values the role of those who volunteer their time to support our work. We will pay ‘out of pocket’ expenses to those who are involved, which includes mileage, public transport costs and carer costs.

If you are invited to attend an event to help with a piece of work, your out of pocket expenses will be covered. More information will be available from the person who invited you or see policy.

 

You can also contact the Communications and Engagement team directly with your feedback by emailing OCCG.talking.health@nhs.net 

 

 

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