List of NHS regional health authorities (before 1996)


From 1974 to 1996 the NHS in England was administered by regional health authorities. The regions closely followed the areas of the previous regional hospital boards established in 1947, but in many cases they were renamed.
Each region was subdivided into area and district health authorities, whose disposition as at 1991 is listed below.
In 1996 the regional health authorities were reorganised as NHS health authorities.
RHB 1947 -74RHA 1974 – 94Area
East AnglianEast AnglianCambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk
Newcastle upon TyneNorthernCleveland, Cumbria, County Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear
North East MetropolitanNorth East ThamesEssex, north east London
ManchesterNorth WesternLancashire, Greater Manchester, Glossop
North West MetropolitanNorth West ThamesBedfordshire, Hertfordshire, north west London, Spelthorne
LiverpoolMerseyCheshire and Merseyside
OxfordOxfordBerkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire
South East MetropolitanSouth East ThamesKent, East Sussex, south east London
South WestSouth WesternBristol and district, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset
South West MetropolitanSouth West ThamesSurrey, south west London, West Sussex
SheffieldTrentDerbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire
Wessex WessexBath, Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Wiltshire
BirminghamWest MidlandsHereford and Worcester, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands
LeedsYorkshireHumberside, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire

An Order in 1994 re-organised these into eight regional health authorities, as follows
Below the regions were area health authorities from 1974 – 1982, and district health authorities from 1974 – 1996.