£4m boost to give patients control

Released 16/07/2010

DH pilot scheme offers patients more choice

A pilot scheme that offers patients more choice and control over their healthcare was given a £4m boost yesterday by Care Services Minister Paul Burstow.

The money will be used to support personal health budget pilot sites set up and run their pilot schemes.

A personal health budget can either be arranged by the NHS, an independent third party, or the individual can be given the money to buy the care themselves through a direct payment.

Through personal budgets, the Government is giving more power and control to patients - an initiative highlighted in the Department of Health White Paper ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS' published on Monday.

Burstow said he is "fully committed" to the pilot. "We want to give people more choice and influence over their healthcare - giving them direct control of the cash is a powerful way of achieving this."

He sited a similar scheme in social care that let people choose services to fit around their life, rather than the other way around, as being a "huge success". The DH's investment into personal budgets for healthcare will strive to benefit patients in a similar way.

"The evidence from social care has shown that people tend to spend less on better things for themselves," Burstow continued.

"Proving that individuals can actually be better guardians of the public purse than institutions, while at the same time ensuring services suit people's individual needs."

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