Working in partnership is essential to understanding the needs and priorities of our communities. NHS Thames Valley works closely with a wide range of organisations who help connect us with people across our region.
Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Organisations
Voluntary and community organisations play a vital role in supporting health and wellbeing in local communities.
Across the Thames Valley, the previous NHS systems developed strong VCSE Alliances that helped bring together community organisations, charities and local partners to share insight and shape services.
As the new Thames Valley ICB develops, we will work with partners from across the region to explore how these alliances can evolve into a Thames Valley VCSE Alliance, ensuring that the experience and expertise of community organisations continue to inform system decisions.
This work will develop over time and will be shaped with the VCSE sector itself.
Working with Local Healthwatch
We work closely with local Healthwatch organisations across the Thames Valley. Healthwatch organisations gather feedback from patients and the public about their experiences of health and care services. They play an important role in ensuring the voices of local people are heard by decision-makers.
We work with Healthwatch in a number of ways, including:
- sharing community insight and feedback
- supporting engagement with local communities
- commissioning specific pieces of listening work
- ensuring lived experience informs service improvement
The future structure of Healthwatch nationally is currently being reviewed, but we remain committed to working closely with our local Healthwatch partners to ensure community insight continues to shape our work.
Click here to find your local Healthwatch organisation.
Working with Local Authorities and Public Health
Local authorities are key partners in improving the health and wellbeing of our communities. We work closely with councils and public health teams across the Thames Valley to understand local needs, share insight and develop services that support healthier communities.
This includes working through statutory partnerships such as:
- Health and Wellbeing Boards
- local authority Overview and Scrutiny Committees
- joint health and care programmes
- community and neighbourhood partnerships
These partnerships help ensure that decisions about health services reflect wider community priorities and local democratic accountability.
Working with Elected Representatives
Members of Parliament and local councillors play an important role in representing the views of their communities. We work with elected representatives to:
- understand local priorities and concerns
- share information about health and care services
- support conversations with residents and community organisations
- respond to issues raised by constituents
Their insight helps ensure that the perspectives of local communities are reflected in our work.
Learning from People’s Experiences
Understanding people’s experiences of health and care services is essential to improving them. We gather insight in many ways, including:
- engagement with community organisations
- feedback through Healthwatch
- listening to and acting upon patient complaints, comments and feedback
- conversations with patients and carers
- surveys, workshops and community events
- insight shared by partners across the system
We use this insight alongside data and evidence to inform decisions about services and priorities.