National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) was one of the better known of the new agencies but this did not prevent it merging, in April 2005, with Health Development Agency to create this new body. It retains the NICE acronym.

The purpose is to create a single organisation for excellence in practice in health. It offers national guidance on the promotion of good health and the treatment of ill health. It will concentrate on three areas of health: public health; health technologies; and clinical practice. For this purpose it has created three centres: the Centre for Public Health Excellence; the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation; and the Centre for Clinical Excellence.

Chief executive: Andrew Dillon
Chair: Sir Michael Rawlins
Address: Midcity Place, 71 High Holborn, London WC1V 6NA
Telephone: 0207 067 5800
Website: www.nice.org.uk