Area health authorities (AHAs) were 90 National Health Service (NHS) administrative organisations set up in England and Wales in 1974 by the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973. Separate legislation was passed for Scotland. In England, they were responsible to an upper tier of regional health authorities (RHAs).[1] In 1982, the AHAs were abolished and replaced by 192 smaller district health authorities but the RHAs remained.[2] Both the district and regional health authorities were then themselves abolished in 1996 as a result of the Health Authorities Act 1995.