Description: Delivery of frontline healthcare services in Scotland are the responsibility of 14 regional National Health Service (NHS) Boards that report to the Scottish Government. Current boundaries of NHS Health Boards in Scotland are defined by National Health Service (Variation of Areas of Health Boards) (Scotland) Order 2013 (SSI 2013/347), which came into force on April 1st 2014, and replaces the previous definition based upon the former Regions and Districts of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. This change was made in order to re-align Health Boards with the combined area of each Local Authority that they serve. Subsequent changes to Local Authorities will result in corresponding amendments to Health Board boundaries in order to maintain alignment.
Description: Integration of health and social care is one of Scotland's major programmes of reform. Following the dissolution of Community Health Partnerships, the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014 gave the impetus for the development of Integration Authorities. Integration Authorities represent partnerships between Local Authorities and Health Boards for delivering health and social care services and integration of budgets. There are 31 Integration Authorities in Scotland, all coterminous with their Local Authority boundary with the exception of Clackmannanshire and Stirling councils which form a single Integration Authority.