DoH commits 4m pounds to personal health budget pilot

The Department of Health (DoH) has outlined plans to provide four million pounds of funding to a pilot scheme aimed at providing patients with greater control over their healthcare provision.

Money is to be provided to support personal health budget pilot sites set up as part of the first phase of a planned NHS-wide scheme to provide cash to consumers so they can flexibly manage their own care.

The announcement comes alongside the issuing of an educational DVD which aims to provide information to staff and health partners on how to introduce the personal budget system into their existing services.

Care services minister Paul Burstow stated that a similar initiative has already proven a success in the social care sector, expressing confidence that the new scheme will deliver the same benefits to the NHS.

He said: “We want to give people more choice and influence over their healthcare – giving them direct control of the cash is a powerful way of achieving this.”

Earlier this month, health secretary Andrew Lansley announced that palliative care funding systems are also to undergo a review in order to make them more flexible and patient-centric.