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Personal Health Budgets
NHS Norfolk and Waveney are part of the Personal Health Budgets pilot which has been ongoing since 2009 and aims to empower patients so they can select the care they receive.
The Government has recently announced that by 2014, all those in receipt of Continuing Health Care (CHC) will be able to have a Personal Health Budget. NHS Norfolk and Waveney are commencing this in January 2012, and all those going through the CHC process/assessments, will be offered the opportunity of PHB at this point.
With a Personal Health Budget, you will be able to decide how you receive your care. Previously, you would be assessed for your needs which would be funded by the NHS and an agency would come out and provide your care. You can now choose to continue with this arrangement, or to employ your own carers, or to use someone else to provide your care. You can also receive the money yourself to manage (via a Direct Payment); ask another organisation to look after the money on your behalf, or for the NHS to manage it. You can also ask another organisation to help with payroll etc. if you wish to employ your own staff.
What this means in practice is that if you had a Direct Payment from Norfolk County Council for Continuing Care, you can now keep this, and your staff, on NHS Continuing Health Care – something that was not previously possible.
How Personal Health Budgets keep Sandie "dancing on the stars"
| Case study Sandie Bailes had an operation to remove a brain tumour in 1998, fought depression in 1999, and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2001. But her Personal Health Budget has given her the finance to help manage her condition. |
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“At one point I thought I couldn't do anything any more, but I got through it. I have a scooter, but I keep on my feet and walk as much as I can. " Sandie’s Personal Health Budget enabled her to buy a special foam mattress for her bed, to help alleviate stiffness in her legs and body caused by her MS. Sandie has used some of her Budget to receive nutritional advice and is investigating using complementary therapies which will benefit her MS. "I have been able to choose what I want to keep me well. Sometimes I have to pinch myself - it seems so incredible that this has been done for me. But I think it will prevent me from going back to the doctor time and time again, and it will save the NHS money in the long run. "I realise now that I'm Sandie who just has MS rather than a person with MS who is called Sandie. “ |
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Join the personal health budgets community on NHS Choices
The personal health budgets community is a virtual space on the NHS Choices website where people with a personal health budget, their families and carers and those who are interested can talk about their experiences.
How to join the community:
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Type or paste this link into your web browser:
http://talk.nhs.uk/forums/75.aspx -
To register, click on ‘Log in or create an account’ on the top right of the web page
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Enter your email address, choose a screen name (it doesn’t have to be your real name) and select a password
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You will be sent an email telling you how to activate your NHS Choices account. You can continue browsing in the forum but must activate the account within 24 hours for it to remain valid
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To use the forum, log in to start a new forum topic or reply to a forum post by someone else
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Click on your name on the top right of the web page (“Logged in as…”) to update your profile at any time
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And have a look at the ‘house rules’: http://talk.nhs.uk/terms/houserules.aspx
Contact NHS Choices if you have any technical problems.
For further information, please contact personalhealthbudgets@nhs.net or visit http://www.personalhealthbudgets.dh.gov.uk/About/faqs/
