Health and Social Care Board
Until 2022, the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) was the body in Northern Ireland responsible for planning and paying for health services. After a 2007 Review of Public Administration, the Health and Social Care Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2009 reorganised the system. Before the act, health services were delivered by four health boards, eleven community and social services trusts, and seven hospital trusts. The act created the Health and Social Care Board and five Health and Social Care Trusts to deliver primary, secondary and community care. The Board worked with the Public Health Agency to commission services, allocate resources, and improve care for people in Northern Ireland. Its commissioning was supported by five local commissioning groups tied to the five trusts. The Board also directly managed community health care provided by GPs, dentists, opticians and community pharmacists, and it reported to the Department of Health.
In 2011, Transforming Your Care, a review of health and social care led by Health Minister Edwin Poots, was published. The Board was responsible for implementing 72 of the 99 recommendations.
In 2016, Health Minister Simon Hamilton announced that the Board would be abolished and that commissioning would move directly to the Department of Health. The change was completed, and the Board’s functions were transferred to the Department of Health on 1 April 2022.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 00:36 (CET).