   the department of health (dh) is the ministerial department of the united kingdom government responsible for government policy on health and social care matters in england, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the scottish government, welsh government or northern ireland executive. it oversees the english national health service (nhs). the department is led by the secretary of state for health with a minister of state and four parliamentary under-secretaries of state. the department of health develops policies and guidelines to improve the quality of care and to meet patient expectations. the department carries out some of its work through arms length bodies (albs), including non-departmental public bodies such as nhs england and the health and social care information centre, and executive agencies such as public health england and the medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency (mhra). ==history== the department of health was formally created in 1988, through the transfer of functions (health and social security) order. like many others, the department with responsibility for the nation's health has had different names and included other functions over time.{{cite web | url=http
1988_establishments_in_the_United_Kingdom Department_of_Health_(United_Kingdom) Health_in_the_United_Kingdom Health_ministries Ministerial_departments_of_the_United_Kingdom_Government