The New Personal Health Budgets System: Providing Greater Choice, Flexibility and Control for Healthcare

Dr Sam Bennett, Director of Think Local Act Personal, is today speaking at The New Personal Health Budgets System: Providing Greater Choice, Flexibility and Control for Healthcare Conference.

The personal health budget initiative is a key aspect of personalisation across health care services in England. Its aim is to improve patient outcomes, by placing patients at the centre of decisions about their care.

Sam will be taking part in the Q&A session "The Integration of Personal Budgets in Social Care and Personal Budgets in the NHS" which will look at the outcomes of the three year Personal Health Budgets pilot programme.

The programme reported significant improvements in the care-related quality of life and psychological well-being of patients who choose to take a Personal Health Budget.

The government announced in November 2012 that it would be rolled-out nationally. People who are already receiving NHS Continuing Care will have a right to ask for a personal health budgets from April 2014. The new Clinical Commissioning Groups will also be able to offer personal health budgets to others that they feel may benefit from the additional flexibility and control.

Furthermore, on the 1st August 2013, the Direct Payment in Healthcare regulations came into force across England. This means that the NHS can now lawfully offer direct payments for healthcare. Many patients within the personal health budgets pilot programme chose to take their budget as a direct payment, once their care plan had been signed off by the NHS.

This personal health budgets forum will offer delegates the guidance and tools needed to prepare for the universal roll-out of personal health budgets as well as looking at the wider personalisation agenda of integrating health and social care.

The full event information is available on the Inside Government website.