Department of Health (United Kingdom)
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The Department of Health (DoH) is a department of the United Kingdom government. It is led by the Secretary of State for Health with three junior Ministers of State.
It responsible for government policy on health and social care and is directly responsible for the National Health Service in England (through 28 Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs). In other parts of the UK, responsibility for health and the management of the NHS has been devolved to local administrations. These are:
- Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Northern Ireland)
- The Scottish Executive Health Department
- The Welsh Assembly Government
Like many other UK ministries or departments of state, the Department of Health has been known by various other names. It started out as the Board of Health, then became the Ministry of Health. It was also for a time combined with social security, creating the Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS) (1968–1988).
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Location
The official headquarters and Ministerial offices are in Richmond House, Whitehall, London. Many staff are in Skipton House, Elephant and Castle, London and were formerly in Alexander Fleming House and Hannibal House there. There are also many staff in Quarry House, Leeds.
Ministerial team
Source: [1]
- Secretary of State for Health - Rt. Hon Patricia Hewitt
- Minister of State for NHS Reform - Lord Warner of Brockley
- Minister of State for Health Services - Rosie Winterton
- Minister of State for Delivery and Quality - Jane Kennedy
- Parliamentary Secretary for Public Health - Caroline Flint
- Parliamentary Secretary for Care Services - Liam Byrne
Permanent Secretary
The Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health is Sir Nigel Crisp 2000-31 March 2006. Unlike his predecessors as permanent secretary, Sir Nigel Crisp was also Chief Executive of the NHS. Following his early resignation in March 2006, it was announced that the posts will be split. Sir Ian Carruthers, the acting director of commissioning, takes over as acting NHS Chief Executive. Hugh Taylor, the director of strategy and business development, becomes acting Permanent Secretary.
Previous permanent secretaries:
- Sir Kenneth Stowe GCB CVO 1981-1987 (DHSS)
- Sir Christopher France, (DHSS including social security: 1987-1988, DoH: 1987-1992)
- Sir Graham Hart KCB 1992-1997
- Sir Christopher Kelly KCB 1997-2000
Chief Medical Officer
The Chief medical officer (CMO), the principal medical advisor to the government, is currently Professor Sir Liam Donaldson (since 1998)