The NHS Personal Health Budget is a initiative that allows patients to manage their healthcare services by giving them more control over the healthcare they receive. This blog post provides a step-by-step guide on how to qualify for and set-up an NHS Personal Health Budget. 

Eligibility assessment

The initial stage when embarking on an NHS Personal Health Budget is to determine eligibility. The eligibility criteria for the initiative includes the following:

• if you have been assessed and qualify for NHS children & young people’s continuing care or continuing healthcare.
• if you receive aftercare services under section 117 of the Mental Health Act.
• if you qualify for a one-off budget to support you to achieve self-management e.g., hospital discharge, mental health recovery.
• to support you if you have an education, health and care plan (EHCP) where there is health provision identified.

Step 1: Understanding your options

The first step, once you have determined your eligibility, is to speak to your healthcare professional who should provide you with clear information, support and understanding regarding your PHB options and the responsibilities associated with each option. 

Step 2: Understand the health and wellbeing needs

The next step is to outline the process of how your needs will be assessed will be explained to give you time to understand and feel you have an equal voice in the assessment. 

Step 3: Calculating the budget

The next step is to determine the budget. Your budget will be calculated to ensure you have enough money to plan for how your agreed needs can be met, including the process to review if the budget is not sufficient to meet your identified needs. The budget can be used to pay for a range of healthcare services, including equipment, medication, and personal care.

Step 4: Developing a personalised care and support plan

The next step is to support you to prepare, plan and make decisions about the care and support you  need in a personalised care and support plan, in addition to understand how your budget can be used to achieve this.

Step 5: Organise care and support

The next step is to make available appropriate support to give you control and flexibility over organising care and support to achieve what matters to you.

Step 6: Monitor and review

The final step is to work alongside you to allow a PHB review (e.g. timescales, what is needed) transparency, ensuring your information is accessible and support is provided to focus on how your PHB is working for you.
 

Creating an NHS Personal Health Budget can be complicated, but it can give individuals greater control over their healthcare services. The eligibility assessment, understanding your options, identifying health and wellbeing needs, calculating a budget, establishing care & support plans, organising the care required, and constantly reviewing/monitoring the PHB are all crucial steps in the process. With these steps, individuals can access the healthcare services they need, in the way they need them.
 

At Thrive Care Solutions we’ll help guide and support you through all these steps – making sure that you’re making empowered choices that with help you successfully manage your PHB. Contact our team to find out more about how we can help.