Who can have a personal health budget?

Individuals that are eligible for the following services can have a Personal Health Budget (PHB):

  • NHS Continuing Healthcare
  • Children and Young People’s Continuing Care
  • Section 117 Aftercare
  • NHS Wheelchair Services

What can a PHB be spent on?

The aim of a PHB is a way of providing more personalised care and means tailoring services and support for people to enable them to have choice, control and flexibility over their care. PHBs are one way of helping people to be more involved in discussions and decisions about their care, and they can be suitable for Eligible Persons of all ages, with physical or mental health conditions, or both.

Managing your personal health budget

A personal health budget can be managed in three ways or a combination of those.

1. Notional budget

The ICB is responsible for holding the budget and using it to arrange and secure the agreed care and support based on the outcome of discussions with the PHB holder, their representative, or, in the case of children, their families or carers.

2. Third party budget

An organisation independent of both the PHB holder and the ICB (for example an independent user trust or a voluntary organisation) is responsible for and manages the budget on the person’s behalf and arranges support by purchasing services in line with the agreed PHB Care Plan.

3. Direct payment for healthcare

Where money is transferred to the PHB holder or their representative, or, in the case of children, families or carers, to into a dedicated bank account and takes responsibility for purchasing the agreed care and support.

I am interested in a PHB – what should I do?

The ICB’s Personal Health Budget Policy contains more information about PHBs and may be useful in explaining more detail about the process for setting up a PHB.

If you are eligible for one of the services that is included within the PHB policy and you wish to take up a PHB, or you would like to discuss this further, please speak to your NHS professional about this. For people in receipt of Adult CHC, Children and Young People’s Continuing Care, or Section 117 Aftercare this will be your named case manager in the first instance. If you are eligible for NHS Wheelchair Services and wish to take explore the option of a PHB please speak to your GP in the first instance.