List of district health authorities in England and Wales
District Health Authority County Area
Bath and Wiltshire Wiltshire Entire County
Dorset Dorset Entire County
Isle of Wight Isle of Wight Entire County ( unchanged )
North and Mid Hampshire Hampshire Districts of Basingstoke and Deane , Hart , and Rushmoor ; part of East Hampshire ( Alton area ) ; part of Test Valley ( Romsey area ) ; most of Winchester ( except 3 parishes ) ; part of Eastleigh ( Eastleigh area )
Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Hampshire Unchanged
Southampton and South West Hampshire Hampshire Unchanged
Authorities in Wessex Region -- 1994–1996
Reorganisation in 1994 led to a reduction in the number of districts to six :
A district health authority was an administrative unit of the National Health Service in England and Wales from 1982 to 2000. Both the configuration and the responsibilities were altered several times during that period. Area Health Authorities, which existed from 1974 to 1982, were an intermediate tier created by the 1974 reorganisation. The most common complaint in evidence about the reorganisation of the NHS made to the Royal Commission on the National Health Service was that it added an extra and unnecessary tier of management.