NHS England - Overview of organisations and their role
The Secretary of State for Health
The Secretary of State has overall responsibility for the work of the Department of Health (DH). DH provides strategic leadership for public health, the NHS and social care in England.
The Department of Health
The Department of Health (DH) is responsible for strategic leadership and funding for both health and social care in England. The DH is a ministerial department, supported by 23 agencies and public bodies. For detailed information, visit the DH website.
NHS England
NHS England is an independent body, at arm’s length to the government. It's main role is to improve health outcomes for people in England. It:
• provides national leadership for improving outcomes and driving up the quality of care
• oversees the operation of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)
• allocates resources to CCGs
• commissions primary care and specialist services
Find out more about NHS England, its vision and business plan for the NHS.
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)
Clinical commissioning groups replaced primary care trusts (PCTs) on April 1 2013. CCGs are clinically led statutory NHS bodies responsible for the planning and commissioning of healthcare services for their local area. CCGs members include GPs and other clinicians such as nurses and consultants. They are responsible for about 60% of the NHS budget and commission most secondary care services such as:
• planned hospital care
• rehabilitative care
• urgent and emergency care (including out-of-hours)
• most community health services
• mental health and learning disability services
CCGs can commission any service provider that meets NHS standards and costs. These can be NHS hospitals, social enterprises, charities or private sector providers. However, they must be assured of the quality of services they commission, taking into account both National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines and the Care Quality Commission's (CQC) data about service providers.
Both NHS England and CCGs have a duty to involve their patients, carers and the public in decisions about the services they commission.