The NHS in England (called, imaginatively, NHS England) has seven regions who support local systems to provide more joined up and sustainable care for patients.
These 7 regional teams are responsible for the quality, financial and operational performance of all NHS organisations in their region.
The NHS England regions also supervise and support integrated care systems. These ICSs (now more commonly called Integrated Care Boards, or ICBs) are the sub-regional level of NHS organisation, each being responsible for 1-2 million people.
Rather illogically the regions have very different numbers of ICSs (3-11).
There was a previous sub-regional level called Area. Such a level had not existed for a while before ICBs formed in 2023.
Anyway. Back to the 7 regions. These are they:
It is not clear if NHS England will continue this structure. They are currently (2025-26) merging ICBs into ‘clusters’. MyHSN thinks we will eventually have about 14 ICB clusters, and regions will cease to exist.
There used to be a local level of administration called a CCG (and before that PCT, PCG, and before that District). These no longer exist.
Many people – including MyHSN! – feel ICBs are too large to feel in touch with local needs.
As healthcare is devolved in the UK, the three nations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, have different systems of administration.
