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Best Care Clinical Networks review completed

The Oxford Academic Health Science Network has completed a review of its Best Care clinical networks and identified key focus areas for the next two years.

Ten clinical networks were established in 2014 with funding until March 2016. Their role was to identify and tackle unwarranted variation in outcomes and practice, promote health equality and spread best practice across our region by establishing sustainable partnerships with service providers, patients, commissioners, public health bodies, academics and industry.

An independent panel has now carried out a thorough evaluation of each of the clinical networks based on their activities to date and future plans.

Chandi Ratnatunga, Senior Responsible Officer for the Oxford AHSN Best Care programme, said: “This has been a really useful process to gauge the success of our clinical networks. They have achieved much in their first 18 months, particularly in sharing and exchanging knowledge and best practice, stimulating new ideas to inform and support change and building capacity and capability across our region.

“We now have a clear idea of where we should focus our efforts of the next two years to deliver tangible results that bring real benefits for patients.”

The Oxford AHSN Board has agreed to continue funding seven of the existing clinical networks. The panel also considered applications for a number of new networks. One of these – Respiratory – was successful.

This means that in 2016-18 the Oxford AHSN will support the following eight clinical networks:

  • Anxiety and depression
  • Children
  • Dementia
  • Early intervention in mental health
  • Imaging
  • Maternity
  • Medicines optimisation
  • Respiratory

Three clinical networks will not be funded beyond March 2016. Work is under way to link into other existing networks in relation to:

  • Comorbidity in physical/mental health
  • Diabetes
  • Out of hospital care

Read about some of the achievements of our Best Care clinical networks in this report.