Strategic Health Authorities
From SR
History
Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) were created by the government in 2002 to manage the local NHS on behalf of the secretary of state, there were originally 28 strategic health authorities. On July 1 2006, this number was reduced to 10. Fewer, more strategic organisations will deliver stronger commissioning functions, leading to improved services for patients and better value for money for the taxpayer.
Roles
Strategic health authorities are responsible for:
- Developing plans for improving health services in their local area
- Making sure local health services are of a high quality and are performing well
- Increasing the capacity of local health services - so they can provide more services
- Making sure national priorities - for example, programmes for improving cancer services - are integrated into local health service plans.
Reporting Hierarchy
Strategic health authorities, function as a part of Regional Government managing the NHS locally, and are a key link between the Department of Health and the NHS.
A list of all SHAs can be accessed via the NHS website
