ðə dˈɪstɹɪkts wɜːɹ ɐ θˈɜːdtˈɪɹ bᵻlˌoʊ ðə ɹˈiːdʒənəl hˈɛlθ ɐθˈɔːɹɪɾi ænd ðɪ ˈɛɹiə hˈɛlθ ɐθˈɔːɹɪɾi wˌɪtʃ dʒˈɛnɚɹəli kˌɔːɹɪspˈɑːndᵻd tə nˈɑːnmˌɛtɹəpˈɑːlɪtən kˈaʊntiz, mˌɛtɹəpˈɑːlɪtən bˈʌɹoʊz ɔːɹ ɡɹˈuːps ʌv lˈʌndən bˈʌɹoʊz ænd ðə dˈɪstɹɪkt mˈænɪdʒmənt tˈiːmz ðæt ɹˈæn ðə hˈɑːspɪɾəlz ˌɔn ɐ dˈeɪɾədˈeɪ bˈeɪsɪs.
The districts were a third-tier below the regional health authority and the area health authority (which generally corresponded to non-metropolitan counties, metropolitan boroughs or groups of London boroughs) and the district management teams that ran the hospitals on a day-to-day basis.