Health Bill Abolishes NHS England - What It Means for Patients

The Health Bill, introduced to Parliament on 13 May 2026, will abolish NHS England in the largest restructuring of the health service since 2012. The legislation transfers NHS England's functions to the Secretary of State for Health, Integrated Care Boards, and other public bodies. For the estimated 7.1 million NHS patients currently on a waiting list, the central question is: what happens to the Right to Choose? The answer, confirmed in the Bill's own provisions, is that patient choice rights are not abolished. They are transferred, maintained, and given stronger enforcement teeth. The Secretary of State will gain new powers to investigate ICBs that fail to comply with patient choice duties - a direct accountability route that did not previously exist under NHS England.

What the Bill Changes

NHS England - the arm's-length body created in 2012 - is wound down under the Bill, with its functions absorbed by the DHSC and by Integrated Care Boards. ICBs will take on commissioning responsibility for primary care, dentistry, ophthalmology, and pharmacy, in addition to their existing secondary care role. The Bill also legislates for a Single Patient Record, which NHS England expects to be available to clinicians in some specialties by mid-2027 and to patients via the NHS App by 2028. The government describes the restructure as cutting a layer of bureaucracy to redirect billions back into frontline care.

What Happens to Right to Choose

NHS England currently holds a legal duty to "act with a view to enabling patients to make choices with respect to aspects of health services provided to them." Under the Health Bill, that duty transfers to ICBs, while the Secretary of State gains new powers to impose regulations requiring ICBs to protect and promote patient choice and to investigate and enforce compliance where they fail. Legal analysis by Burges Salmon notes this could make Right to Choose enforcement more direct - patients whose ICB is blocking a referral will have a clearer route to escalation. The right itself - to choose any NHS trust or NHS-commissioned independent provider for a first outpatient appointment - remains unchanged.

What This Means for Patients Now

Until NHS England is formally wound down, nothing changes day-to-day for patients. The Right to Choose still works through the same process: ask your GP to re-refer you to the provider of your choice using the NHS e-Referral Service. You can read more about how to use this right on the NHS Right to Choose page, and compare waiting times across NHS trusts near you to decide where to be referred.