Oxfordshire Mental Health Partnership (OMHP)
The Oxfordshire Mental Health Partnership (OMHP) brings together six organisations to deliver coordinated mental health support across the county. By working collectively, partners combine clinical care with practical and community-based support, helping people move between services more smoothly and receive support that reflects the reality of their lives.
People rarely need just one type of help. Mental health can be affected by housing, employment, finances, relationships and physical wellbeing. A partnership approach allows support to respond to these connected needs rather than treating them in isolation.
For the person receiving support, this means clearer routes into services, fewer delays between them and a stronger sense of continuity throughout their recovery journey.
The following organisations form the partnership:
Why partnership working improves support
OMHP allows partners to share expertise, coordinate decisions and align pathways so people experience a more consistent and connected system.
Working in partnership enables:
- More efficient use of specialist skills and resources
- Faster identification of the right support options
- Reduced duplication across services
- Shared learning and service improvement
- Stronger evidence to influence commissioning and investment
This approach strengthens both delivery and accountability. Outcomes and insight are considered collectively, supporting better planning across the local system.
What this means in practice
When services work together, the difference is tangible for people using them.
- Clearer pathways
People are supported to understand what help is available and how to access it, reducing confusion and uncertainty at already difficult times. - Less repetition
Joined communication between organisations means people are less likely to retell their story multiple times. - Support that reflects real life
Clinical treatment can sit alongside help with housing, community connection, confidence building or practical stability. - Continuity through change
As someone’s needs evolve, support can move between partners without starting again from the beginning. - A stronger collective voice
Lived experience shared across the partnership informs service design and influences wider local decisions.
A person’s experience
Someone leaving hospital might need more than clinical follow-up. They may be worried about where they will live, how they will manage financially, or how to rebuild routine and confidence.
Through OMHP, support can connect these elements:
- Clinical teams monitoring mental health
- Community organisations providing recovery support
- Housing specialists addressing accommodation issues
- Guidance towards employment or meaningful activity
Instead of navigating each step alone, people encounter services that communicate with one another and understand their wider situation.
Stronger services through collaboration
Partnership working benefits the system as well as individuals.
Staff share knowledge and good practice, improving quality across organisations. Insight gathered across services builds a more complete understanding of local need. Joint evaluation and reporting strengthen accountability and support evidence-based commissioning decisions.
Collective working also allows:
- Coordinated public messaging and engagement
- Aligned development of new services
- Stronger bids for funding
- Innovation informed by wider experience
This strengthens sustainability and responsiveness across the county’s mental health provision.
Better together
Each organisation contributes specialist knowledge, skills and relationships within the community. Working together allows these strengths to be combined, creating a more comprehensive offer than any one partner could deliver independently.
The result is:
- Broader support options
- More coordinated care
- Improved stability during transitions
- Stronger long-term outcomes
Partnership working is not just about collaboration between organisations. It is about improving people’s experience of support and helping them move forward with greater confidence and stability.
Goals of the partnership
NHS Parliamentary Award for Mental Health Care
This innovative model has been recognised locally and nationally; the OMHP won the NHS Parliamentary Award in the Excellence in Mental Health Care category in 2019. The Partnership was chosen from hundreds of nominations after it received unanimous backing from all Oxfordshire MPs.
