H+C Number in Northern Ireland
The Health & Care number is the equivalent of the NHS Number. It is a unique personal identifier for everyone who has received, or is eligible to receive, health care and/or social care from the Northern Ireland Health and Personal Social Services (HPSS).
Enter the number without spaces on the Registration - Personal screen in H+C No. We ask that you do NOT enter CHI numbers in the H+C field.
Its correct format is, eg 111 111 111. Because the Northern Ireland 'legacy' CHI number has an identical format to the Scottish CHI Number, there is potential for confusion. Note that the Scottish CHI numbers have the first two digits between 01 and 31, while Northern Ireland is in the range 32 to 39.
The New NHS Number, where known, will be used in place of the H+C No. when patients moving from England register with a Northern Ireland GP practice.
The equivalent change from England to Northern Ireland is as follows:
Former field name - England |
Changed to - NI |
New format NHS Number |
New format H+C Number |
Current NHS Number |
Current H+C Number |
Old format NHS number |
No Change |
New NHS number |
New H+C number |
NHS Number |
H+C Number |
New NHS number |
New H+C number |
NHS Number |
H+C Number |
Old NHS number |
Old H+C number |
New NHS number |
New H+C number |
NHS Number |
H+C Number |