Health and Social Care Board

What Health and Social Care Board does

The Health and Social Care Board, operating as the DOH/HSCNI Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG), is a statutory arm of the Northern Ireland Department of Health responsible for strategic planning, commissioning, and performance oversight of health and social care services across Northern Ireland. It is a government state entity, not a commercial company, and is funded through public taxation and National Insurance contributions rather than user fees. Its primary 'customers' are the approximately 1.9 million residents of Northern Ireland, served through a distributed network of HSC Trust facilities and a public-facing digital portal at online.hscni.net.

The organisation delivers its mandate through a portfolio of patient-facing digital services and regional clinical programmes. Core offerings include My Waiting Times NI (a transparency tool enabling patients to view and track waiting times and access the Waiting List Reimbursement Scheme), the Urgent and Emergency Care Programme (No More Silos), the Patient Travel Scheme for out-of-region treatment, the Regional Mental Health Service, and Pharmacy First (a community-pharmacy minor-ailments service). The underlying technology platform is a WordPress-based public web portal with Google Translate integration across 30+ languages; no proprietary software, mobile applications, APIs, or integrations were disclosed in the source data.

SPPG has four physical sites (Belfast HQ, Armagh, Ballymena, Londonderry) and supplements its physical footprint with active social media channels (Facebook, X, YouTube, Instagram, Vimeo) for public communications. It maintains no disclosed headcount, management team roster, revenue, or funding rounds, and operates without any disclosed M&A activity, partnerships, patents, certifications, or AI/ML capability. The operating model is functionally that of a public sector coordinator and information publisher rather than a product or technology vendor.

Name

Health and Social Care Board

Legal name

DOH/HSCNI Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG)

Website

https://hscboard.hscni.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The DOH/HSCNI Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG) is a Northern Ireland government health authority that plans, commissions, and provides public information on health and social care services for the region's ~1.9 million residents through HSC Trust facilities and the online.hscni.net digital portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Health Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Hospital & Medical Service Plans (6324)

akta.pro primary industry

Health Systems Strengthening & Universal Health Coverage (UHC) (BPADAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Health Systems Strengthening & Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Partnerships (HLAJAOAL)

Keywords

• Public health services
• Health and social care
• Patient waiting times
• Community pharmacy services
• Emergency care coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Belfast

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The DOH/HSCNI Strategic Planning and Performance Group plans, coordinates, and oversees the delivery of publicly funded health and social care services across Northern Ireland. It operates patient-facing digital services (My Waiting Times NI, Patient Travel Scheme, Pharmacy First), regional improvement programmes (Urgent and Emergency Care, Regional Mental Health Service), and administers reimbursement and access schemes for residents.

Product overview

The Health and Social Care Board (DOH/HSCNI Strategic Planning and Performance Group) operates a portfolio of digital and clinical service offerings focused on health and social care delivery in Northern Ireland. The core offering consists of patient-facing digital services (My Waiting Times NI), regional clinical programmes (Urgent and Emergency Care, Regional Mental Health Service), and community care pathways (Pharmacy First, Patient Travel Scheme). These services are delivered through a web-based portal platform accessible to the public, healthcare providers, and administrative staff.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• My Waiting Times NI
• Urgent and Emergency Care Programme (No More Silos) A regional improvement programme aimed at transforming urgent and emergency care services across Northern Ireland through integrated care pathways and coordinated service delivery.
• Patient Travel Scheme A scheme providing information and support for patients who need to travel outside Northern Ireland for treatment, including the Waiting List Reimbursement Scheme.
• Regional Mental Health Service A coordinated regional service providing mental health care and support across Northern Ireland, integrating social care and children services.
• Pharmacy First A community pharmacy service enabling patients to access treatment and advice for minor ailments without needing a GP appointment.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• NHS England: National Health Service body for England performing equivalent strategic commissioning, performance oversight, and operational coordination functions across a much larger population; directly comparable mandate to HSCNI SPPG.
• NHS Scotland: Health and Social Care directorate within the Scottish Government coordinating NHS Scotland services; very comparable structure to HSCNI as a devolved national health authority with integrated social care responsibilities.
• Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland): NI regional body responsible for health protection, screening, and health improvement, working alongside SPPG within the same HSC family; closely comparable public health scope and Northern Ireland geography.
• NHS Wales: Welsh NHS delivery body overseeing health services in Wales with seven Local Health Boards and one trust; comparable devolved health authority role to HSCNI, including strategic planning and performance management functions.
• Health Service Executive (Ireland): Republic of Ireland's national health service operator running hospital and community services across the island; functionally the closest cross-border analogue to HSCNI in terms of integrated health and social care delivery.

Emerging players

• Healthcare Improvement Scotland: Statutory body supporting quality improvement and evidence-based practice across NHS Scotland; comparable role to elements of HSCNI's performance management and clinical improvement functions.

Regional players

• Care Quality Commission: Independent regulator of health and adult social care in England; comparable oversight and assurance function to performance management elements of HSCNI's portfolio, though England-only in scope.

Broad incumbents

• Department of Health and Social Care (UK): UK government ministerial department setting overall health and social care policy for England and overseeing arms-length bodies; broader strategic and policy role compared with HSCNI's operational planning remit in Northern Ireland.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HSCBoard
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/HealthandSocialCare
• Facebookfacebook.com/DepartmentOfHealthNI
• Instagraminstagram.com/department_of_health_ni

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Health and Social Care Board