Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority (SHA) joined forces with Hampshire and the Isle of Wight SHA on 1 July 2006 to become NHS South Central.

This new organisation covers the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. It runs from Banbury and Milton Keynes at its northern edge down to the Isle of Wight in the south.

It will cover 25 PCTs, ten acute trusts, three mental health trusts, one learning disability trust, one specialist trust and a new ambulance trust, which was also established on 1 July, serving a population of around four million people.

NHS South Central is chaired by Dr Geoffrey Harris with Mark Britnell as Chief Executive.

For more information on NHS South Central visit their website at www.southcentral.nhs.uk