In October 2006, all primary care trusts (PCTs) outside the London area were restructured. This reduced the number of PCTs from 303 to 152.[1] At the same time, the number of strategic health authorities (SHAs) (which have responsibility for the PCTs) were also decreased (from 28 to 10). These ten new SHAs largely mimic the geography of the government office regions. The exception to this was the South East Government Office Region which is covered by two strategic health authorities: South Central SHA and South East Cost SHA.[2]
The PCTs were organised into clusters so as to achieve management cost savings, although the PCTs themselves remained separate statutory bodies. Whilst the majority of clusters contained multiple PCTs, there were some clusters, such as Cumbria, which consisted of just a single primary care trust. In October 2011, the ten SHAs were also grouped into clusters, with each having its own executive team, chief executive, and directors. There were four SHA clusters, and these were London, North of England, NHS Midlands and East, and South of England.[3]
NHS London was the strategic health authority for the capital, with responsibility for 31 PCTs which operated in five clusters. The PCTs were coterminous with London borough boundaries.
In April 2012, North East London and the City was created from the merger of two previous PCT clusters; NHS East London and the City, and NHS Outer North East London.[4]
The North of England SHA cluster was made up of three strategic health authorities; NHS Yorkshire and the Humber, NHS North West and NHS North East.[5]
County Durham PCT – Created by a merger of five primarycCaretTrusts in 2006. These PCTs were: Derwentside, Durham and Chester-le-Street, Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield PCTs.
NHS Yorkshire and the Humber SHA was formed in 2006 from the merger of the three former SHAa of West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, and North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire. This SHA contained 15 PCTs organised into 6 clusters.
Bassetlaw PCT - until 2011 Bassetlaw PCT was under the East Midlands SHA. However, when PCTs were formed into clusters, it was transferred to the South Yorkshire cluster.
Doncaster PCT (from the merger of Doncaster Central PCT, Doncaster East PCT, Doncaster West PCT on 1 October 2006)
NHS Rotherham
NHS Sheffield (from the merger of North Sheffield PCT, Sheffield South West PCT, Sheffield West PCT, Sheffield South East PCT on 1 October 2006)
Derby City PCT - Formed from the merger of Central Derby PCT and Greater Derby PCT
Derbyshire County PCT - Formed on 1 October 2006 from the merger of High Peak and Dales PCT, Erewash PCT, Derbyshire Dales and South Derbyshire PCT, North Eastern Derbyshire PCT, Amber Valley PCT and Chesterfield PCT
Leicestershire County and Rutland and Leicestershire City
Leicester City PCT - Formed from the merger of Eastern Leicester PCT and Leicester City West PCT
Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT - Formed from the merger of Charnwood & North West Leicestershire PCT, Hinckley and Bosworth PCT, Melton, Rutland & Harborough PCT, and South Leicestershire PCT
Northamptonshire Teaching PCT - Formed from the merger of Daventry and South Northamptonshire PCT, Northampton Teaching PCT and Northamptonshire Heartlands PCT
Milton Keynes PCT - Became part of the East Midlands SHA in April 2011.[8]
Nottinghamshire County Teaching PCT - Formed from the merger of Ashfield PCT, Broxtowe and Hucknall PCT, Gedling PCT, Mansfield District PCT, Newark and Sherwood PCT, and Rushcliffe PCT [7]
The Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire; Norfolk, Suffolk & Cambridgeshire; and Essex strategic health authorities were merged in July 2006 to make the East of England SHA.
NHS West Midlands (otherwise known as the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority) was formed on 1 July 2006 from Birmingham and the Black Country SHA, Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA, and West Midlands South SHA). It consisted of five PCT clusters.
NHS Birmingham East and North (also known as Birmingham East and North Primary Care Trust, and formed on 1 October 2006 following merger of Eastern Birmingham PCT and North Birmingham PCT)
Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT
Solihull Care Trust (Solihull Adult Social services joined Solihull PCT to create a new organisation Solihull Care Trust)
NHS North Staffordshire (North Staffordshire PCT - formed on 1 October 2006 following merger of Newcastle-under-Lyme PCT and Staffordshire Moorlands PCT)
NHS South West (South West SHA) was formed from the merger of Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire SHA, Dorset and Somerset SHA and South West Peninsula SHA.[9] It consisted of 7 PCT clusters containing 14 PCTs.
^"Archived copy"(PDF). www.northwest.nhs.uk. Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2022.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)