Residents in Welwyn Garden City are now served by a new health organisation following a national restructuring of the National Health Service that took effect on 1 April 2026. The change follows the formal dissolution of the Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board on 31 March 2026.
Under the new structure, responsibility for planning and overseeing local health services has transferred to the NHS Central East Integrated Care Board. This new body is responsible for services across a wide region including Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Luton, Milton Keynes, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, serving a total of 3.5 million people. Jan Thomas has been appointed as the chief executive of the new organisation.
The restructuring is part of a wider effort led by NHS England to reduce the running costs of regional health boards by 50 per cent to improve efficiency and reduce duplication. While the administrative oversight has changed, officials have confirmed there is no immediate change to where patients receive care or attend appointments.
Services in Welwyn Garden City, including the New QEII Hospital, remain under the management of the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust. The Urgent Treatment Centre at the hospital continues to operate daily from 8am to 10pm, while residents requiring care for life-threatening emergencies should continue to use the 24/7 accident and emergency department at Lister Hospital in Stevenage.
The previous Hertfordshire and West Essex organisation was originally established on 1 July 2022 and was responsible for planning services for 1.6 million residents before its closure as part of a nationwide shift in how regional health services are governed.
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