Personalisation in health

This section explains Personal Health Budgets - the development of Personalisation policy into NHS services and points to current learning.

Personalisation in health

In this section

Introduction: Personal Health Budgets
- Personal health Budgets: Department of Health definition
- pilots and evaluation
Resources and Networks

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Introduction: Personal Health Budgets

Personal Health Budgets are the same idea as personal and individual budgets in adult social care. They are about 'personalising' access to services so individuals provisionally 'hold' their own budget - to spend on services of their choice, to meet their needs.

There are a number of caveats around Personal Health Budgets:

People don't 'hold' their money directly like Direct Payments in adult social care - for legal reasons. It is a 'virtual' budget.
PHBs are only being piloted now: there isn't a right to have access this personalised budgeting as their is for adults eligable for Adult Social Care support.
Individuals work with professional health staff to make choices about services they should 'purchase'. These choices have to meet health needs agreed by the individual and those working with them.
There are complications because in England we have a universal right to health care access - whereas for adult social care, access is based on meeting certain financial and disability criteria.

Personal Health Budgets - definition by the Department of Health

'A personal health budget is an amount of money that is spent on meeting the health care and wellbeing needs of people, generally those with a long term illness or disability.

'At the heart of a personal health budget is a care plan. This is sometimes referred to by other names, like a support plan. Your care plan should be developed with you in partnership with your health care professional, for instance your community nurse, or someone from your voluntary or community organisation, for instance the MS Society. It must be then be signed off by your NHS primary care trust (PCT). The plan sets out your health care and wellbeing needs, the health outcomes you want, the amount of money in the budget and how this will be spent.

'Key points:

NHS values still hold - no one will pay their own money to get services they need or be denied essential treatment as a result of having a personal health budget.
Having a personal health budget does not entitle someone to more services, more expensive services, or preferential access to NHS services.
Services should be safe and effective. Using them should be a positive experience.
Personal health budgets should help people get a service from the NHS that best suits them.
You should have as much control over decisions as is appropriate. You're not being left on your own - you'll have support when you make your decisions.
Organisations should work in partnership with you and with each other. No one will have to get their services in this way if they do not want to.'

Read the full Q&A on Personal Health Budgets on the Department of Health website.

The pilots and evaluation

Personal Health Budgets (PHBs) are being piloted in about half the Primary Care Trusts in England for three years until 2012. You can view a full list of the pilot sites, and the health areas they're offering users PHBs on.

As the caveats above show, there are a number of issues for pilot sites to work through, as well as addressing concerns about safeguarding and outcomes for different user groups eg mental health, stroke etc. The pilots are being evaluated by the Department of Health:

Fourth Interim Evaluation Report on Personal Health Budgets
Third Interim Evaluation Report in Personal Health Budgets
or
visit the Personal Health Budgets Evaluation website hosted by the University of Kent

As well as these reports there are a number of user blogs, forums and interviews detailing user, family and carer experiences so far.

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Resources and networks

Introductions

Understanding Personal Health Budgets: introductory information: DH publication for all audiences, introducing key themes and intentions

Everything you need to know: DH webpage answering key questions.

Personal Health Budgets: first steps: 2009 DH documents setting out intentions of the PHB pilots

User perspectives

NHS Choices Users Blog: the views and experiences of some of those users piloting PHBs.

NHS Choices User and Carer Forum: online forum for self-support and discussion for users, carers and families.

Personal Health Budgets: the views of users and carers: interviews published by NHS confederation, August 2011

Evaluations

(as above)

The Cost of Implementing Personal Health Budgets (PDF 324KB)

Fourth Interim Evaluation Report on Personal Health Budgets

Third Interim Evaluation Report in Public Health Budgets

Personal Health Budgets Evaluation website hosted by the University of Kent and their quarterly newslettters.

Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) and PHBs: In Control report looking at the role of PHBs to be a central plank of delivering the NHS-wide QIPP productivity savings agenda.