Training Blog

Personal budgets have been used in social care since the mid 1990s and ministers claim that they can encourage patients to get more from the NHS. Evidence shows that personal budgets have allowed people in social care to be more imaginative and use funds more “carefully” than the system did. It is said that the personal budget programme employed in social care includes direct cash payments to the individual as well as budgets that a patient can put in the hands of a social care professional.

Those who support the idea of patients having their own personal budget have said that there is no reason why this should not happen in health, although it will need to be carefully introduced.

There are those who claim that the system who say that the system can be misused if you are simply giving patients money however the information on this scheme states that where direct payments are handed over to individuals the way they are used is carefully monitored and people receive help from professionals about what services are available. The chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents managers, states: “There is a growing body of evidence to suggest health outcomes are improved when the patient is directly involved in making decisions about their treatment and the way in which care is delivered by NHS staff.” Despite this there are a number of obstacles to overcome before the scheme can be launched nationally.

There are lots of questions from those who have their doubts about this new system such as, should patients be allowed to spend their personal budgets on non cost-effective treatments? or should individuals be allowed to top-up their care? Should patients be allowed to invest personal budgets to be spent at a later date? Dr Hamish Meldrum, who is the chairman of the British Medical Association, said the policy appeared to “further establish the idea of healthcare as a commodity”, which would not be in patients’ “best interests”.

Those who support the idea of patients managing their own budget claim that “Personal health budgets could revolutionise the way in which care is delivered, but they are not without risks.”

Niall Dickson states: “Getting the initial payment level right will be important as will deciding what restrictions to place on the kind of treatment a patient is allowed to purchase with tax payers’ money, and from whom.”

Ministers imagine that it will be of particular interest to those with long-term conditions such as diabetes and people using mental health services, for example, a person with diabetes may choose to use their budget to get treatment from a community clinic rather than being referred to a hospital specialist. Launching the Bill, Health Secretary Alan Johnson said: “People rightly have high expectations of the care the NHS offers, and they want more control over their own health – which is why this Bill will give more power to patients and drive up the quality of care.” Andrew Lansley adds: “Personal budgets have been at pilot stage since 2005. If Labour had stuck to their promises to deliver them then patients would already be benefiting”.

It would seem that the majority of people are dubious of this new scheme as it seems that they are worried about several factors:

• It is essentially privatising the NHS
• Some people may get a higher budget than others
• Some people may use their budget to jump through the waiting lists for procedures

Without a detailed plan of how the scheme will actually work it is impossible to know whether the scheme will actually work basically I’m not sure if the scheme is good or bad. Although the evidence would suggest that there is the potential for the scheme to work I think it may cause some people to lose out or be unable to get the treatment they need.