Health Improvement Board

Our aim

To add life to years and years to life, focusing on the factors underpinning wellbeing, while levelling up differences in the health of different groups in the county.

Who are we and what do we do?

The Health Improvement Board focuses on effective partnership working across Oxfordshire to meet peoples’ health and social care needs. It aims to:

• Achieve effective use of resources
• Deliver the priorities and objectives arising from the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for Oxfordshire
• Meet the performance measures agreed by the Health and Wellbeing Board as set out in the Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2024-2030 (pdf format, 1.3Mb)
• Membership
• Meetings and agendas
• Shadow board meetings before April 2013

Priorities for Health Improvement Board 2024-2030

The Health Improvement Board is a sub-partnership of the Oxfordshire Health and Wellbeing Board. 

The Shared Vision of the Health and Wellbeing Board Shared is: “To work together in supporting and maintaining excellent health and well-being for all the residents of Oxfordshire”

There are three core principles underpinning the Joint Health and Wellbeing Board Strategy 2024-2030:

1. Addressing health inequalities by minimising inequalities in access to health care services, unequal experiences of such services and inequalities in overall health outcomes between different groups in the county.
2. Preventing physical and mental ill health by helping individuals keep themselves healthy, identifying health issues early and providing the right support at the right time.
3. Closer collaboration by working more closely, collaboratively, and creatively with residents and communities, especially in areas of greatest deprivation.

Health Improvement Board Priorities

The priorities of the Health Improvement Board closely align with the work of the other sub-groups of the Health and Wellbeing Board to deliver the Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy (2024-2030).

More specifically, the key priorities that the Health Improvement Board will contribute to are:

Priority 3: Health people and health places (Live Well)

3A)  Increasing the number of residents with health weight and reducing the harm from unhealth weight, with a focus on priority groups. Using a Whole Systems Approach on:

• System Leadership
• Prevention
• Support
• Healthy weight environments

 

3B)  Helping Oxfordshire to become smoke free. Focussing on:

• Less people taking up smoking
• Smokefree environments
• Effective regulation and enforcement of illicit tobacco
• More smokers supported to quit, targeting those populations where smoking rates remain high

3C)  Reducing alcohol-related harm. Focussing on:

• Addressing unmet need for alcohol support and treatment
• Improving earlier identification and prevention of alcohol harm
• Close collaborative working between health and care services where there are overlapping needs
• Supporting the vulnerable and complex needs population to address substance use and associated harms

Priority 4: Health people and health places (Live Well)

4A)  A system wide approach to physical activity, incorporating key physical activity programmes and active travel. Focussing on:

• Ensuring every child has opportunities to learn to swim, ride a bike and be active for 60 minutes per day
• Increased physical activity levels in priority neighbourhoods
• Whole School Approach to increase physical activity in children
• Joined up collaboration and investment with communities to reach at risk groups
• Increased knowledge and capabilities of the Health Care Professional network across Oxfordshire
• Coordinated local and national campaigns to promote active lifestyles and raise levels of health literacy

4B)  Whole system approach to improving access and uptake of active travel options. Focussing on:

• More cycling and walking to workplaces and schools, especially among underserved populations
• Improved cycling and walking routes
• Encouraging business investment to provide local work opportunities that enable active travel
• Developing a coordinated approach to promote walking and cycling
• Implementation of Health Place Shaping objectives
• Working with developers so new developments have active travel infrastructure

4C)  Recognition and action the critical importance of being active for mental health and wellbeing. Focussing on:

• Supporting community groups, local sports clubs and voluntary organisations
• Targeted funding for people with or at risk of long-term health conditions to provide activity and exercise opportunities
• Provision of leisure services, parks and green spaces