Welsh Local Health Board

Valid to: 30^th September 2009

A Welsh Local Health Board is an Organisation.

A Welsh Local Health Board is a body corporate established by the Welsh Ministers under s.11 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006; whose areas are co-terminous with local authority boundaries. Welsh Local Health Boards are responsible for patients who are “usually resident in their area”.

The overall function of a Welsh Local Health Board is to improve the health of the responsible population, develop primary health services, and commission community and secondary care services. A Welsh Local Health Board will, if it so wishes and is capable of doing so, be able to provide directly a range of community health services, creating new opportunities to integrate primary and community health services as well as health and social care provision.

Welsh Local Health Boards will be the leading NHS Organisation for partnership with Local Authorities and other partners; including NHS Trusts and other Welsh Local Health Boards, and local communities to improve health and deliver wider objectives for social and economic regeneration.

Save for certain specialised services commissioned by Health Commission Wales, Welsh Local Health Boards commission services themselves, although they may by agreement with other Welsh Local Health Boards, work together to commission certain services, e.g. on a Regional basis. In this case a lead Welsh Local Health Board will be identified for the group.