Personal Health Budgets
What is a personal health budget?
Personal health budgets are an allocation of money provided by the NHS to support identified healthcare needs. These allocations can be given directly to the person who is looking to receive care and can be used to set up a package with a care provider of their choice.
Individuals who receive NHS continuing healthcare are eligible for a personal health budget. They provide the person receiving care with greater autonomy, flexibility and involvement in their plan of care.
People who qualify for a personal health budget can either use the money directly to organise care or work with NHS teams to identify suitable options. Many people who need care choose Helping Hands because of our reputation for high quality care at home.
Personal health budgets work in a similar way to personal budgets, in that you are able to manage and pay for your own care – but they are not the same:
- Personal health budgets are for your healthcare needs i.e. support with personal care
- Personal budgets are for your social care needs i.e. maintaining hobbies
What’s next once you have a personal health budget?
When you approach Helping Hands for a package of care, you can expect us to work cooperatively with you and your NHS teams to establish budgets and an outcome-based care plan. Regularly working in partnership with healthcare professionals to organise NHS-funded packages, Helping Hands welcomes the personal health budgets, which will see customers exercising more control over their care.
Here at Helping Hands, we are passionate about the provision of person-centred care that matches the needs of the individual. When organising a package of care, our registered nurse specialists or local care managers with specific expertise, conduct assessments with our customers to establish what it is that they want from our services – now and in the future.
We directly employ and manage experienced carers, who we match with our customers based on expertise and personality. Our carers, who are closely managed and monitored, are an essential part of our commitment to continuity of high-quality care.