Date reviewed: 18-05-09
"'High Quality Care for All' puts quality - safety, effectiveness of care and patient experience - at the heart of everything the NHS does. Many people have said that personal health budgets could improve the quality of their care: both their experience of care and, potentially, the effectiveness of their care. They were dismayed by indicationsin the White Paper, 'Our health, our care, our say', and elsewhere, that individual budgets for healthcare were unlikely to be introduced.
During the Next Stage Review, groups of clinicians considered how different pathways of care could be improved for patients and their carers, as part of the development of visions for healthcare in each SHA region. As part of this process, many regions proposed that personal health budgets should be tested."
"In response to this, 'High Quality Care for All' announced a pilot programme, building on the successes of direct payments and individual budgets in social care, to explore the potential of personal health budgets in the NHS, starting later this year [2009]."
"What is a personal health budget?
A personal health budget helps people to get the services they need to achieve their health outcomes, by letting them take as much control over how money is spent on their care as is appropriate for them.
It does not necessarily mean giving them the money itself... Personal health budgets could work in many ways, including:
- a notional budget held by the commissioner;
- a budget managed on the individual's behalf by a third party; and
- a cash payment to the individual (a 'healthcare direct payment').
PCTs already have extensive powers to offer personal health budgets, either as a notional budget or held by a third party. Only the healthcare direct payment is subject to the passage of legislation in the current Health Bill." [1]
Department of Health
Fairer contributions guidance: calculating an individual's contribution to their personal budget (14 July 2009)
Understanding personal health budgets (2 July 2009)
Personal health budgets: first steps (28 January 2009)
Personal health budgets page
DH Care Networks
Personal budgets for older people: making it happen. (January 2010)
Social Care Institute for Excellence
SCIE Research Briefing 20: The implementation of individual budget schemes in adult social care (February 2009)
| Reports and Consultation Documents |
Shaping personal health budgets: a view from the top. (NHS Confederation, 3 December 2009)
At your service: navigating the future market in health and social care. (Demos, October 2009)
The piloting of personal health budgets in England: policy briefing. (Royal College of Nursing, September 2009)
Progress reports on personal budgets (Community Care, 26 June 2009)
Personal health budgets in the NHS: briefing. (Unison, June 2009)
Working together: public services on your side (HM Government, March 2009)
Personal health budgets: a quick update and a new FAQ briefing for applicants (DH Care Networks, 19 March 2009)
The implementation of individual budget schemes in adult social care (Social Care Institute for Excellence, March 2009)
Individual budgets pilot projects: impact and outcome for carers (Department of Health, 26 February 2009)
Personalised care: the challenge for councils - speech by Dame Denise Platt (Commission for Social Care Inspection, 25 February 2009)
The individual budgets pilot projects: impact and outcomes for carers (University of York Social Policy Unit, February 2009)
Personal health budgets: first steps (Department of Health, Dear Colleague letter, 28 January 2009)
Fairer Contributions Guidance: a consultation on the extension and revision of the statutory guidance for charging for non-residential social services in relation to personal budgets (Department of Health, 26 January 2009)
Personal health budgets: the shape of things to come? (NHS Confederation, January 2009)
Evaluation of the individual budgets pilot programme (Department of Health, 21 October 2008)
Personal health budgets update: October 2008 (Department of Health, 16 October 2008)
Personalisation in social care (Help The Aged, 2008)
Personalisation: a rough guide (Social Care Institute for Excellence, October 2008)
Individual patient budgets: background and frequently asked questions - a new policy paper (Health Services Management Centre, October 2008)
Personal health budgets update (Care Services Improvement Partnership, October 2008)
A personal approach to public services (Dr Foster Intelligence, December 2007)
'Our Health, Our Care, Our Say' - what could the NHS learn from individual budgets and direct payments? (Health Services Management Centre, August 2007)
Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services (Department of Health, 30 January 2006)
| Press Releases and Coverage |
Press releases:
New consultation on personal health budgets launched. (Department of Health, 26 October 2009)
New study to examine benefits of personal health budgets. (Department of Health, 8 October 2009)
Lord Darzi praises progress towards personal health budgets (Department of Health, 16 July 2009)
Next stage in personal healthcare budgets (Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, 18 May 2009)
Putting the patient in control: next stage in personal healthcare budgets announced (Department of Health, 12 May 2009)
Individual budgets benefit carers (Department of Health, 27 February 2009)
News coverage:
Boost for 'cost-effective' individual budgets. (The Guardian, 28 January 2010)
Wrong to let patients use budgets for treatments like homeopathy, says BMA. (Pulse, 25 January 2010)
NHS money given to patients could be spent on air-con, doctors warn. (Daily Telegraph, 22 January 2010)
Patient budgets a 'threat to basic principles of the NHS'. (BMA News, 21 January 2010)
Personal health budgets 'could pay for holidays'. (Healthcare Republic, 15 December 2009)
Personal health budgets under fire. (Health Service Journal, 9 December 2009)
Personal budgets to allow patients to buy homeopathy and acupuncture. (Pulse, 30 October 2009)
'Cash for care' abuse warning (BBC, 18 October 2009)
Patients to take control of personal budgets as pilots get underway. (Pulse, 9 October 2009)
Why people disagree about direct payments and personal budgets (Community Care, 22 May 2009)
Patients to trial personal budgets in up to half of PCTs (Pulse, 14 May 2009)
Personal health budgets pilot set for summer launch (Nursing Times, 28 April 2009)
DH warns councils not to raid personalisation grant (Community Care, 5 March 2009)
Personal health budgets: the patient is always right (Health Service Journal, 2 March 2009)
PCTs told to be innovative with personal budgets (Health Service Journal, 28 January 2009)
Personal health budgets may spark tension between services (Health Service Journal, 22 January 2009)
Patients will be given budget to pick and choose their own NHS care (The Times, 17 January 2009)
Bill sets out personal health budget proposals (Health Service Journal, 16 January 2009)
Patients to get own NHS budgets (BBC, 16 January 2009)
Super patients should use their powers wisely (Health Service Journal, 28 August 2008)
Second thoughts: individual budgets could weaken the NHS (Guardian, 16 April 2008)
Personal healthcare budgets - a real possibility? (Health Service Journal, 30 January 2008)
Case studies:
Over the moon about individual budgets (HM Government)
Personal health budgets (Department of Health)
The personalisation network (Care Services Improvement Partnership)
Expert guides: direct payments, personal budgets and individual budgets (Community Care online)
| Articles and Parliamentary Reports |
Personal health budgets (House of Commons Hansard written answer, 15 January 2009)
[1]
Personal health budgets: first steps (Department of Health, 28 January 2009)
