The Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee met to discuss several items, including the development of a Thames Valley Integrated Care Board, and to hear updates from the Thames Valley Acute Provider Collaborative and the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Mental Health Provider Collaborative. The committee was also scheduled to elect a chair and vice-chair.

NHS Reforms and the Thames Valley Integrated Care Board

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the development of a Thames Valley Integrated Care Board (ICB). Dr Nick Broughton, Chief Executive NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire & Berkshire West ICB and NHS Frimley ICB, Dr Priya Singh, Chair NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire & Berkshire West ICB and NHS Frimley ICB, and Robert Bowen, deputising for Hannah Iqbal Chief Strategy, Digital, Transformation Officer Director of System Transformation & Development NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire & Berkshire West ICB were listed as presenters.

According to the report pack, the role and functions of ICBs are changing within the context of the NHS 10 Year Health plan¹. These changes are happening within a wider set of changes to the NHS and public sector landscape. The report pack states that the boards of Frimley ICB and Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) ICB have committed to support their organisations coming together to:

design and develop a new entity with a Thames Valley footprint that embraces a different commissioning construct and builds on the respective strengths of both ICBs.

The new configuration requires a three-way adjustment to the current Frimley ICB footprint:

• Berkshire East will merge with BOB ICB to form a new Thames Valley ICB
• Surrey Heath and Farnham will transfer to Surrey and Sussex ICB
• North East Hampshire will transfer to Hampshire and Isle of Wight (HIOW) ICB

The report pack also included the Thames Valley Commissioning Intentions 2026/27 – 2029/30, which set out the strategic objectives that will guide commissioning over the next three years:

• Commissioning to maximise value
• Commissioning for integrated and proactive neighbourhood health
• Commissioning to prioritise prevention

The commissioning intentions stated that the Thames Valley ICB will commission for equitable outcomes at neighbourhood level, within a system which maximises healthcare value.

Provider Collaboratives

Naomi Radcliffe, Director, Thames Valley Acute Provider Collaborative, and Lisa Reynolds, Associate Director, Mental Health, BOB Provider Collaborative were scheduled to present an update on provider collaboratives.

The report pack noted that in 2021, NHS England set out a formal requirement for all trusts providing mental health and acute services to be a part of at least one 'provider collaborative' by April 2022. The report pack stated that providers should work together to:

• reduce variation and inequality in outcomes, access and experience;
• improve resilience; and
• deliver specialisation and consolidation where it will improve outcomes and value.

The Thames Valley Acute Provider Collaborative (TVAPC) is comprised of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust (BHT), Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust (FHFT), Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) and Royal Berkshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (RBFT). The collaborative aims to improve outcomes in population health and healthcare, tackle inequalities, enhance productivity and value for money, and help the NHS support broader social and economic development.

The four programmes of the TVAPC are:

• Clinical Services Programme
• Corporate Services Programme
• Elective Care Board
• Productivity and efficiency programmes

The Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Mental Health Provider Collaborative (BOB MHPC) is a collaborative between Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BHFT) and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (OHFT), working in partnership with the BOB Integrated Care Board (ICB) and together with system partners. The aim of the collaborative is to improve the mental health of the population across BOB Integrated Care System (ICS) by leading comprehensive transformation of mental health services at scale.

The three programmes that form the BOB Mental Health provider collaborative Transformation Portfolio are:

• High Dependency and Secure Care
• Three Year Adult In-Patient Programme
• Mental Health Learning disabilities and Autism Resource Review and Improvement

Other Business

The committee was also scheduled to discuss items for forthcoming meetings and to confirm the date of the next meeting.