In 2004/2005 the department set aside £1.5m for events, but that has now been halved to £750,000 for the financial year ending in 2009.
NHS Live and the Health and Social Care Awards claim the largest portion of spend annually,
The results are the first in a series of investigations into public sector spend on events using documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
The DoH also revealed that its top events position - events and visits manager - commands between £44,681 and £59,961 annually.
As with most government departments, it uses an agency roster from which it sources most of its business. The DoH detailed which agencies it has used in since 2004, making good reading for Glasgows and Lewis Live, both of which have been used regularly over the last five years:
2004 (roster list)
Glasgows
Jack Morton
Communications Shows
Clever Media
Bracken
RS Live
Innovision
Tactical Marketing
Creative Realisation
Lewis Live
Eventworks
Stagestruck
Keystone
2005 (agencies used)
Bracken
Top Banana
Jack Morton Worldwide
Innovision
Keystone
Glasgows
Lewis Live
Oxygen
Clever
2006
Lewis Live
RS Live
Clever
Keystone
Oxygen
Bracken
Top Banana
Innovision
Glasgows
JMW
2007
Bracken
Sledge
RS Live
Lewis Live
Top Banana
Keystone
Innovision
Frameworks
Fitch Glasgows
2008
Glasgows
Lewis Live
World Events
RS Live
Acclaim
Gemini
Knapp Goodwin