MAJOR changes to the way the NHS is structured began on Saturday with the establishment of the new NHS south central Strategic Health Authority (SHA). NHS South Central will embrace the counties of Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. It will be run from Banbury and Milton Keynes at its northern edge down to the Isle of Wight in the south. South Central will comprise 25 primary care trusts, 10 acute trusts, three mental health trusts, one learning disability trust, one specialist trust and a new ambulance trust. The extended SHA will serve a population of around four million people. The total budget of NHS South Central is more than £4.5 billion and it will employ more than 93,000 people work – approximately five per cent of the working population - making the NHS the largest employer in the South Central area. NHS South Central is a new organisation formed by the merger of Thames Valley and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight strategic health authorities. The merger is part of the national reorganisation of the NHS and follows local consultation on "Commissioning a Patient-led NHS", a government initiative which has also set the direction of travel for primary care trusts and ambulance trusts across England. One of 10 new Strategic Health Authorities across the country, NHS South Central will be chaired by Dr Geoffrey Harris with Mark Britnell as chief executive. The main responsibilities of the new SHA will be to: l Provide strategic leadership to the local NHS, ensuring national policy is implemented at a local level l Lead on organisational and workforce development, ensuring organisations are fit for purpose and that the local NHS has a workforce that will meet the future healthcare needs of the population l Performance manage local trusts to ensure local systems operate effectively and deliver improved performance and value for money
