NHS England are currently running a questionnaire to find out more about people’s experiences of Personal Health Budgets, which could feed into and shape the future of personalised healthcare
Personalise Health Budgets (PHB) are designated resources to support patients’ health and wellbeing needs, which are planned and agreed between the patient and their local NHS team.
It allows the patient to manage their own health support needs such as treatments, equipment and personal care.
NHS Long Term Plan
NHS England launched their much-awaited Long Term Plan in January 2019 and in it outlined plans for a Personalised Care model.
Currently, more than 32,000 people have PHBs and the NHS are keen to accelerate the rollout of PHBs, with a vision to improve choice and control over the delivery of care.
In 2023/24, it is hoped 200,000 people will benefit from a PHB, which can range from the provision of bespoke wheelchairs to community-based packages of personal support.
With the publication of the Long Term Plan, Minister for Care, Caroline Dinenage MP, said: “I’ve seen first-hand how personal health budgets can give people a new lease of life, granting them the ability to enjoy their lives to the full.
“These budgets help to join up health and social care services, improving people’s experiences and outcomes whilst ensuring value for money for taxpayers.”
What are PHBs and who do they apply to?
The application of PHBs are an effort to change the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach for the NHS to deal with long-term health problems.
Amongst other things, a PHB could be spent on specially adapted wheelchairs to maximise independence, a choice of personal assistants who can be specially trained to meet a patient’s individual needs, technology or equipment.
The right to have a personal health budget only applies to adults receiving continued NHS healthcare (personal care provided outside of hospital) and children in receipt of continuing care.
If eligible, a patient and their healthcare team will develop a care plan that will set out a patient’s personal health and wellbeing needs, the health outcomes they want to achieve, the amount of money in the budget and how it will be spent.
How can you get involved?
NHS England are asking those who currently receive a PHB to engage in a 30 minute questionnaire on their experiences in order to ensure they can implement quality improvement and address any currently problems.
The survey can be found here.
We know that many people are making use of this support as a brain tumour diagnosis can result in the need for continued follow-up care after initial hospital treatment in a community setting, such as rehabilitation services.
Are you eligible for PHB?
If you are keen to find out more or think you are eligible for PHB, you can contact our dedicated Benefits Clinic, which takes place every Tuesday, with telephone appointments from 9.30am to 4pm.