The Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) convened to discuss several key healthcare issues affecting the region. The agenda included updates on children's emotional wellbeing and mental health services, the establishment of a primary care working group, and the development of a neighbourhood health plan for Oxfordshire. Councillors were also scheduled to note responses to previous HOSC recommendations and to review the committee's forward work plan.

Children's Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health

The committee was scheduled to receive updates on the Children's Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Strategy, CAMHS services, and school health nurses in Oxfordshire. Caroline Kelly was invited to present these reports.

The report pack included details of the Emotional Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, launched in 2022, which focused on:

• Providing early help and creating supportive environments
• Developing a confident workforce
• Ensuring positive transitions
• Improving access to specialist services

The strategy was embedded within the I-Thrive model¹ of delivery. An action plan to address gaps in the system was implemented with key deliverable areas including:

• A digital offer and directory of services
• Family learning and support programmes
• A whole school wellbeing resilience programme
• Development of a system performance dashboard to track implementation of the action plan
• A 16-25 transition service
• A training programme for the children and young people's workforce
• Wider determinants of health

A partnership approach was taken to the action plan's development and implementation.

Digital Offer

The Tellmi Mental Health Service² was commissioned in July 2024 to provide digital peer support and counsellor intervention to those aged 11-18 in Oxfordshire. In its first year, Tellmi provided support for 433 young people, with 75 receiving support for high-risk issues. The service also includes a directory of resources, with 3,883 directory visits in the first year.

Family Learning and Support Programmes

Work was completed throughout 2024-25 to understand current family learning and support programmes. This included a mapping exercise and a survey of parents, carers, and providers. This information supported the development of a gap analysis to inform commissioning proposals for new family support programmes as part of the Family Hub programme.

Whole School Wellbeing Resilience Programme

The aim of this project was to map out resources available to schools to embed good mental health and wellbeing practices for pupils. CAMHS hosted an IThrive workshop in November 2023 to map out resources across Oxfordshire.

The CAMHS Mental Health Support in Schools project has the objectives:

• For schools to be able to better support CYP Mental Health needs in schools and build resilience to address concerns without the need for specialist service input
• Roll out 100% of MHST's county wide by 2029
• Clinical input into MHST's
• Oxfordshire Well Schools Public Health
• Support the Emotional school based avoidance cohort and increase up take in school attendance
• Emotional Mental Health and Wellbeing resources to Oxfordshire Primary Schools – Public Health

The OxWell Survey³ is a large-scale biannual survey designed to measure wellbeing of children and young people aged 9–18. In the 2023 survey, 7,133 students took part in Oxfordshire. Key findings included bullying in primary school, loneliness, and body image. Sleep quality and sleep problems were widely reported due to worries about the climate/environment, their family not having enough money, and worry about what is going to happen.

16-25 Transition Service

To support a better transition to adulthood for young people open to CAMHS, a transformation workstream was created as part of the new CAMHS contract that went live in 2025 to address the transition process for young adults when they turn 18.

Training Programme

In November 2023, Oxfordshire Mind⁴ was commissioned to deliver mental health and suicide prevention training to professionals and volunteers across the county.

Wider Determinants of Health

Publication of Community Insight profile reports for all 14 areas was concluded in June 2025. To support taking forward actions arising from the Community Insight report recommendations, Community Health Development Officer posts have been funded for each of the areas where a profile has been developed, along with a small grants scheme to support community projects that help deliver the recommendations from the community profiles.

The Committee was scheduled to consider the reports, raise any questions and agree any recommendations arising.

Neighbourhood Health Plan for Oxfordshire

Dr Michelle Brennan and Dan Leveson were scheduled to present a report providing an update on the ongoing work to develop a Neighbourhood Health Plan for Oxfordshire.

The report pack stated that the national and local priority in health and care over the next 5-10 years is to bring support closer to where people live, work, and connect, creating a proactive, community-led system focused on what matters most to local people: staying well, staying independent, and staying connected. This will be enabled by three key shifts: from hospital to community, from sickness to prevention, and from analogue to digital.

The Oxfordshire Neighbourhood Health and Care Plan will be designed and delivered across the broad range of factors that impact the health and wellbeing of residents.

The report pack also stated that Oxfordshire has been divided into four planning units (North, West, City and South) to complete some time limited work. Each planning unit has been allocated a coordinator who has been tasked with:

• Identifying named liaisons from local sectors to map local connections and relationships.
• Bringing together and building upon existing community asset and capability mapping for cluster geography.
• Identifying local strengths, gaps and challenges to help inform development of Neighbourhood Health and Care plan.
• Developing a plan to agree neighbourhood geographies that are yet to be determined, alongside any further issues to overcome.
• Identifying local priorities or approaches or relevance to neighbourhoods e.g. care pathways, population cohorts.

The Committee was invited to consider the report, raise any questions and agree any recommendations arising it may wish to make before this plan is presented to the Oxfordshire Health and Wellbeing Board for approval on 4 December 2025.

Establishment of a Primary Care Access and Estates Working Group

The committee was to formally agree to the establishment, scope, and timescales of a Primary Care Access and Estates Working Group, focusing on General Practice Services in Oxfordshire.

The report pack stated that primary care is the foundation of the NHS and the first point of contact for most patients. In Oxfordshire, general practice is under increasing pressure due to rising demand, workforce shortages, estate limitations, and the need to modernise service delivery. These pressures are compounded by population growth, housing development, and changing patient expectations.

The overarching purpose of this review into primary care is to investigate the challenges facing primary care in Oxfordshire and develop evidence-based recommendations to improve capacity, access, estate development, and service integration, with a focus on sustainability and equity.

The working group intends to focus on the following themes as part of its review:

• Workforce Capacity and Clinical Time Balance
• Access Equity and Patient Experience
• Estate Constraints and Expansion Planning
• Alternative Funding Models and Design Solutions
• Service Integration and Transformation
• Use of Digital tools and technology

The working group will engage with a wide range of stakeholders including:

• NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB
• Healthwatch Oxfordshire
• District council planning officers
• Individual General practitioners
• GP practice representatives and Primary Care Networks
• NHS Property Services and district valuers
• Local MPs and councillors

The working group will submit a written report to the wider Committee in its public meeting in June 2026.

The Committee was recommended to:

• Confirm its support for the establishment of a Primary Care working group.
• Agree to the proposed membership of the working group (Councillor Jane Hanna OBE, City Councillor Louise Upton, Councillor Gareth Epps, Councillor Paul-Austin Sargent, Councillor Ron Batstone, District Councillor Katharine Keats-Rohan).
• Agree to the scope and Methodology of the working group's planned activities.
• Agree to receive an update on the working group's activities and findings and recommendations in June 2026.

Chair's Update

Councillor Jane Hanna OBE, the Chair of the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee, was scheduled to provide a verbal update on relevant issues since the last meeting.

The report pack included a report that was submitted to the ICB on behalf of the Committee with recommendations on General Practice Services in Oxfordshire.

A report was submitted to Oxfordshire system partners on behalf of the Committee with recommendations on retaining the Independent Patient Voice Function in Oxfordshire.

Another report was also submitted on behalf of the Committee with recommendations on Eyecare Services in Oxfordshire.

The Committee was asked to note a letter sent to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, requesting a national review of independent service providers in NHS ophthalmology. The letter stated that the JHOSC supported the Royal College of Ophthalmologists' call for a national review into the use and oversight of ISPs in NHS-funded cataract surgery and related services, recommending scrutiny of non-contracted activity, coding practices, and referral pathway payments, to ensure patient safety and system integrity.

The Committee was also asked to note a letter that was sent to all of Oxfordshire's MPs, to brief the MPs and seek their support for retaining the Independent patient voice in Oxfordshire. The letter stated that while the legislative changes are imminent and that the structure of Healthwatch Oxfordshire as an entity may not be preserved, there remains a compelling case for ensuring that the core functions Healthwatch has provided—namely, a truly independent, locally-rooted patient voice—are not lost in the process of reform.

Healthwatch Oxfordshire Update

Veronica Barry, Executive Director of Healthwatch Oxfordshire, was invited to present the Healthwatch Oxfordshire Update Report.

The Committee was invited to consider the Healthwatch Oxfordshire update and note it, having raised any questions arising.

Forward Work Plan

The Committee was recommended to agree to the proposed work programme for its upcoming meetings.

Actions and Recommendations Tracker

The Committee was recommended to note the progress made against agreed actions and recommendations, having raised any questions.