Established and hosted by local authorities, health boards are statutory groups that bring together representatives from the NHS, local authority, public health, adult social care, children’s services and local Healthwatch, to plan how to meet the needs of their local population and tackle local health inequalities.

• Bristol Health and Wellbeing Board
  
• South Gloucestershire Health and Wellbeing Board
  
• North Somerset People and Communities Board
  

NHS England and NHS Improvement South West provides national leadership to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). Locally, the area team of NHS England and NHS Improvement South West covers Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG. The area team commission some specialist health services across the area and primary care services such as dentists, pharmacists and opticians.

Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire CCG works with CCGs outside the area.

• Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire CCG
  
• Somerset CCG
  
• Gloucestershire CCG
  

We work closely with local councils to ensure that residents have easy access to both health and social care services. The council also employs public health specialists who are responsible for areas such as health protection and health promotion. Together we are working to reduce health inequalities across the three areas.

• Bristol City Council
  
• North Somerset Council
  
• South Gloucestershire Council
  

The South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit provides commissioning support for Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire CCG and the other CCGs in Gloucestershire and Somerset, such as contract management, financial analysis and human resources support.

Healthwatch is the patient champion for health and social care. There are local Healthwatch organisations across the country, commissioned by their local authority and supported by Healthwatch England. The local organisations help people to get the best from their local health and care services by providing information and advice, and gathering views from patients to inform future services. They also highlight issues and problems to Healthwatch England.

• Healthwatch Bristol
  
• Healthwatch North Somerset
  
• Healthwatch South Gloucestershire
  

We engage with a wide range of groups, communities and organisations to help us make decisions that improve outcomes for patients and the quality of services.

We commission services from a number of local organisations, including:

• Weston Area Health NHS Trust  
• University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust 
• North Bristol NHS Trust
• Emersons Green NHS Treatment Centre  
• North Somerset Community Partnership 
• Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 
• South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust 
• Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
• Positive Step 
• Spire Bristol Hospital 

Find out more about What we do and How we make decisions

.