The Health and Social Care Board is an organisation responsible for the commissioning of
health services for the people of
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. Its current chief executive is Ms. Valerie Watts.
Creation
The Health and Social Care (Reform) Act (Northern Ireland) 2009
followed the Review of Public Administration in 2007 and led to a reorganisation of health and social care delivery in Northern Ireland. Prior to enactment of this legislation, healthcare delivery in Northern Ireland was provided by 4 health boards, 11 community and social services trusts and 7 hospital trusts. This Act
established the Health and Social Care Board and five Health and Social Care Trusts which are responsible for the delivery of primary, secondary and community health care.
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the Health and Social Care board is to work in partnership with Northern Ireland's Public Health Agency to commission services, allocate resources and improve services for all people of Northern Ireland. Its commissioning is supported by five local commissioning groups that are geographically linked to five health and social care trusts. The Board is also directly responsible for community health care provided by
general practitioners,
dentists
A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofacial comp ...
,
opticians
An optician, or ''dispensing optician'', is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person's vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various ophthalmic appliances that will give the nec ...
and community pharmacists. It reports directly to the
Department of Health
A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...
and the current minister responsible is
Robin Swann
Robin Swann (born 24 September 1971) is a politician from Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland's
Minister of Health from Jan 2020 to Oct 2022, he was the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 2017 to 2019. MLA.
Transforming Your Care
Transforming Your Care was a review of health and social care commissioned in 2011 by then Health Minister
Edwin Poots
Edwin Poots (born 27 April 1965) is a British politician in Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from May to June 2021. He was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 1998, and was ...
and published in December 2011. The Health and Social Care Board are responsible for 72 of 99 recommendations made in the report.
Potential Abolition
In March 2016, then health minister
Simon Hamilton
Simon Hamilton (born 17 March 1977) is a former Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Hamilton was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Strangford from 2007 to 2019; Hamil ...
announced that the Health and Social Care Board would be abolished and that commissioning responsibilities would be transferred directly to the Department of Health. His decision was met with criticism from both politicians and health professionals. Currently, the Board is still in position and no further plans for its future have been made.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Health and Social Care Board
Health and Social Care (Northern Ireland)