Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, how did the NHS structure change?

The NHS structure changed from a tripartite system to a unified system under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. This Act aimed to simplify the operational framework of the NHS by removing several layers of bureaucracy that had been established in the previous tripartite system, which was characterized by divisions between providers, purchasers, and regulators of health services.

By transitioning to a unified system, the Act sought to create greater efficiencies, improve patient care, and foster a more integrated approach to health and social care. This restructuring emphasized the delivery of health services through more coherent and cohesive methods, ultimately aiming to enhance service quality and accessibility for patients.

The focus was on greater local decision-making and less reliance on centralized structures, but the essence of this change was the move toward a more unified and streamlined NHS rather than maintaining or further complicating the tripartite system.