What is a Personal Health Budget (PHB)?
A Personal Health Budget is an amount of money to support a person’s identified health and wellbeing needs, planned and agreed between the person and their NHS team which:
Aims to provide greater choice, flexibility and control over the health care and support people receive.
Is not about new money, but about using resource differently.
Is an opportunity to work in equal partnership with the NHS about how their health and wellbeing needs can best be met.
PHB introductory video
PHB Easy Read Leaflet
PHBs are the result of government proposals to increase ‘personalised care’. They are not intended to reduce healthcare costs, nor do they represent any reduction in service for patients. PHBs take different forms: notional budgets, direct payments and third party arrangements as well as combinations of the three in some instances. A notional budget where the person or their family are aware of the budget available for their assessed needs and the agreed care and support arranged for them, following discussions with the person, and their family (or other representative) A direct payment made to the person or their family, who then arranges the care and support directly as agreed between them and the NHS team. A third-party arrangement where the budget is transferred to a person or organisation to arrange the agreed care and support for the person, and their family.
For further information, please contact: nclicb.personalhealthbudgets@nhs.net
PHB Process
All PHBs are underpinned by a Personalised Care and Support Plan (PCSP) which is produced jointly between the client and their family/ carers and a health professional. The PCSP moves the focus of care provision to a co-produced piece of work with the client and their family rather than directed by the clinician.
- Generic PHB processes
- Blank PCSP
- A CIC Request and Authorisation Form is completed by the Care Manager to request the PHB to be set up.
PHB inclusions
• People eligible for Continuing Healthcare (CHC) and Continuing Care (CC).
• People with ongoing social care and education needs, who also make regular ongoing use of NHS services.
• People eligible for Section 117 aftercare services.
• People leaving the Armed Forces, who are eligible for ongoing NHS services.
• People with a learning disability, autism or both, who are eligible for ongoing NHS care.
• People who access wheelchair services whose posture and mobility needs impact their wider health and social care needs.
Guidance on the Legal Rights to have a PHB
N.B. Anyone has the Right to Ask for a PHB, as an NHS service can make a budget available to persons receiving a Direct Payment to pay for a service not currently available on the NHS which will meet their assessed needs.
Regulations are in place detailing items that direct payments PHBs cannot be spent on such as tobacco, gambling, alcohol, debt repayment, emergency care and core GP services. The expenditure is monitored by the responsible commissioner within NCL ICB regardless of PHB type.
PHB Policy and Governance
Videos showing real life examples of PHBs
PHB resources and reference documents
PHB Process
All PHBs are underpinned by a Personalised Care and Support Plan (PCSP) which is produced jointly between the client and their family/ carers and a health professional. The PCSP moves the focus of care provision to a co-produced piece of work with the client and their family rather than directed by the clinician.
- Generic PHB processes
- Blank PCSP
- A CIC Request and Authorisation Form is completed by the Care Manager to request the PHB to be set up.