Introducing the Trust

The NOC maintains a distinguished medical and nursing tradition since its beginning in 1872. The tradition of clinical excellence and reputation for first class patient care continues today with a team of dedicated staff and consultants working together to put the care and needs of our patients first. We are an innovative and friendly hospital providing routine procedures and a wide range of specialist services:

• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Rheumatology
• Disability Services
• Rehabilitation
• Metabolic Medicine
• Research

Delivering Excellence

The Trust is actively working towards delivering excellence in everything we do - clinical quality, service efficiency and patient experience – and we are busy facilitating the support systems, culture and partnerships to support our hospital community in achieving this.

Teaching

As a teaching hospital trust, the NOC provides a large number of placements and fellowships for student doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals in training, who benefit from the expertise and experience of some of the most skilled clinicians in the world.

Why Choose the NOC?

• Consultants who are recognised as world leaders in their chosen field.
• One of the lowest infection rates in the country.
• Our research into musculo-skeletal disorders has earned us an international reputation. We now have a new Research Centre, which houses many of the leading academics and researchers in this field .
• Construction of a new £35 million state-of-the-art hospital.
• The Oxford Centre for Enablement (OCE) provides a wide range of specialist services for people with long-term conditions and disability, including rehabilitation, neurological conditions, specialist equipment and prosthetic limbs.

Future of the NOC

What is the press publicity all about?  The NHS is divided up into ten large areas called Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs).   The job of each SHA is to oversee all NHS activity in its “patch” to get the best value for patients for the money being spent.  South Central SHA, who oversee a patch from North Oxfordshire down to the south coast, has recently circulated a review of orthopaedic services called the Thames Valley Orthopaedic Review.  This report has reached the media and is attracting interest because one of its main conclusions is that the NOC will not be a viable organisation in the future.

What exactly does this report say?  The report reviews how orthopaedic services are provided at each of the acute Trusts in the Thames Valley area.  It considers how those services will continue into the future, bearing in mind that a large contract has been signed with an independent provider, Capio, who run surgical units for routine orthopaedic work in Banbury and Reading.  The report concludes that the NOC will lose a large proportion of its routine work to these centres (often called Independent Sector Treatment Centres or ISTCs).  This would cause the NOC to shrink in activity and size to the point where it could not survive as a separate organisation.  The NOC would then need to merge with another organisation such as the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust.

Is the NOC going to close?  No.  There is no suggestion in the report that the NOC would close.  The report refers to the specialist work the NOC carries out and suggests this will continue.  But the report sees no future for the NOC as a separate organisation with its current focus on musculoskeletal and rehabilitation services.

What does this mean for orthopaedic and other services at the NOC site?  It is too early to say.  The NOC was already doing work on how to ensure that the services it provides can continue into the future, under planned changes to the national funding system.  As a Trust we are committed to ensuring that all our patients continue to have access to high quality services, but we cannot be sure that all of these will be provided at the NOC site indefinitely.

Will this affect the treatment I or my family receive?  No.  It is “business at usual” at the NOC and we are all determined that these uncertainties will not affect the care that you receive.  We will continue to treat all patients who choose, or need, to be referred to us to the very best of our abilities.

So what is happening next?  The NOC is reviewing its future strategy in partnership with South Central SHA.   This work will be carried out over the next few months and the conclusions are expected in spring 2007.  In the meanwhile the SHA has confirmed publicly that no discussions about merger have been started at this time.  You can read the letter from Mark Britnell here.

Can I read the Thames Valley Orthopaedic Review for myself?  Because so many people have asked to see the report we have placed it on the Trust website together with accompanying letters and press releases from South Central SHA and the Trust.  You can view these using the associated links above.

What if I have further questions or comments?  You can address questions or comments to the Chief Executive Officer, Trust Offices or to our Patient and Liaison Service (PALS).

PALS Office Telephone: 01865 738126 Email - admin.pals@noc.anglox.nhs.uk

CEO Office Telephone: 01865 737502.