NHS Trust

National Health Service Trusts (NHS Trusts) provide many services of the National Health Service in England and Wales. They are not trusts in the legal sense but are in effect public sector corporations. Each trust is headed by a board consisting of executive and non-executive directors, and is chaired by a non-executive director. Non-executive directors are recruited by open advertisement.

There are 5 major types of Trusts carrying out direct services:
 * NHS Primary Care Trusts providing primary care (PCTs)
 * NHS Hospital Trusts, (often referred to as Acute Trusts)
 * NHS Ambulance Services Trusts
 * NHS Care Trusts
 * NHS Mental Health Services Trusts.

Eleven NHS Special Authorities, organised on an NHS Trust basis, deal with NHS-wide issues:


 * Health Protection Agency
 * Mental Health Act Commission
 * National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
 * National Patient Safety Agency
 * National Treatment Agency
 * NHS Appointments Commission
 * NHS Blood and Transplant
 * NHS Business Services Authority
 * NHS Direct www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk
 * NHS Litigation Authority
 * NHS Professionals Special Health Authority
 * The Health and Social Care Information Centre
 * The NHS Institute For Innovation and Improvement

In addition there are (after reorganization in 2006) ten Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs), organised on a regional basis, which have the responsibility of coordinating the strategies of the health trusts in their regions. These are also headed by boards of executive and non-executive directors.

All NHS Trust Boards are required to have an Audit Committee consisting only of non-executive directors, on which the Chairman may not sit. This committee is entrusted not only with supervision of financial audit, but of systems of corporate governance within the Trust.