National Health Service

The National Health Service (NHS) is the publicly-funded healthcare system of the United Kingdom. The organisation provides the majority of healthcare in the UK, from general practitioners to Accident and Emergency Departments, long-term healthcare and dentistry.

Structure

Responsibility for the NHS has been devolved to the component parts of the UK.

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England

The NHS in England is managed at the top level by the Department of Health, which takes political responsibility for the service. It controls 28 Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs), which oversee all NHS operations in a particular area.

Related Topics:
England - Department of Health - Strategic Health Authorities

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The SHAs supervise:

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• Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), which administer primary care and public health. There are 300 PCTs, which oversee England's 29,000 GPs and 18,000 NHS dentists. In addition, they oversee such matters as primary and secondary prevention, vaccination administration and control of epidemics.
• NHS Hospital Trusts. These 290 organisations administer hospitals, treatment centres and specialist care in the about 1,600 NHS hospitals (many trusts maintain between 2 and 8 different hospital sites).
• Ambulance Trusts
• Care Trusts
• Mental Health Trusts

Wales

In Wales, the Strategic Health Authorities are called Local Health Boards. A Welsh Trust will typically administer all hospitals in a region, as well as all care and mental health functions. Most people in Wales will have access to a District General Hospital which provides a range of services on an outpatient, inpatient and day case basis. Some of these hospitals also provide specialist services such as burns and plastics and cardiac surgery. Wales has one main teaching hospital, the University Hospital of Wales, based in Cardiff. The NHS also provides community services which includes district nurses, health visitors, midwives and community based speech therapists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.

Related Topics:
Wales - University Hospital of Wales - Speech therapists - Physiotherapists - Occupational therapists

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There are 13 regional Trusts, as well as a further Trust for the Welsh Ambulance Service:

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• Bro Morgannwg (Bridgend and Newport) http://www.bromor-tr.wales.nhs.uk
• Cardiff and Vale http://www.cardiffandvale.wales.nhs.uk
• Carmarthenshire http://www.carmarthen.wales.nhs.uk
• Ceredigion & Mid Wales http://www.ceredigion-tr.wales.nhs.uk
• Conwy & Denbighshire http://www.conwy-denbighshire-nhs.org.uk/
• Gwent Healthcare http://www.gwent-tr.wales.nhs.uk/
• North East Wales http://www.newalesnhstrust.org.uk
• North Glamorgan http://www.nglam-tr.wales.nhs.uk
• North West Wales http://www.northwestwales.org
• Pembrokeshire and Derwen http://www.pdt-tr.wales.nhs.uk
• Pontypridd & Rhondda http://www.pr-tr.wales.nhs.uk
• Swansea http://www.swansea-tr.wales.nhs.uk
• Velindre http://www.velindre-tr.wales.nhs.uk
• Welsh Ambulance Service http://www.was-tr.wales.nhs.uk

Scotland

The NHS in Scotland has always been a separate and distinct body from the NHS in other parts of the United Kingdom. Healthcare policy and funding is the responsibility of the Scottish Executive. The chief civil servant in the Scottish Executive Health Department is also chief executive of NHS Scotland.

Related Topics:
Scotland - Scottish Executive - Chief executive

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Provision of healthcare is the responsibility of 15 geographically-based NHS Boards. There are no NHS Trusts in Scotland; instead, hospitals are owned by and GPs contracted in by the local NHS Board. Provision of community and mental health care is also the responsibility of each local Board.

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They are supported in this task by NHS National Services Scotland and several other special health boards, including NHS Health Scotland (Public health and health education), Health Protection Scotland, NHS Education for Scotland (training and e-library), NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, and the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Related Topics:
NHS National Services Scotland - NHS Health Scotland - Health Protection Scotland - NHS Education for Scotland - NHS Quality Improvement Scotland - Scottish Ambulance Service

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The State Hospital for Scotland and Northern Ireland at Carstairs, which provides high security services for mentally disordered offenders and others who pose a high risk to themselves or others, is the responsibility of the State Hospitals Board for Scotland.

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Local NHS Boards

The 15 local health boards are:

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• NHS Argyll and Clyde
• NHS Ayrshire and Arran
• NHS Borders
• NHS Dumfries & Galloway
• NHS Fife
• NHS Grampian
• NHS Greater Glasgow
• NHS Highlands
• NHS Lanarkshire
• NHS Lothian
• NHS Orkney
• NHS Shetland
• NHS Tayside
• NHS Western Isles

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, the NHS is administered by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety.

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The Department is organised under a Permanent Secretary into several groups and one agency. These are the Planning and Resources Group, Strategic Planning and Modernisation Group and Primary, Secondary and Community Care Group and the 5 Professional Groups. The Department’s Executive Agency is the Northern Ireland Health and Social Services Estates Agency (known as Health Estates).

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The five professional groups are

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• Medical and Allied Services
• Social Services Inspectorate
• Nursing and Midwifery Advisory Group
• Dental Services
• Pharmaceutical Advice and Services

Other

In addition to this hierarchy there are various internal bodies which have authority over particular matters. For example, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is an NHS body which produces guidelines and standards for healthcare.

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