Consultation on personal health budget rollout launched

Patients and healthcare sector stakeholders around the country are to be asked to offer opinions on the rollout of the government's personal health budget scheme.

Over the next eight weeks, views will be sought on defining exactly who could be entitled to apply for a personal health budget, as well as issues such as what services should be excluded, the role of local authorities in supporting the initiative and how family members can get involved.

The personal health budget scheme will allow patients to access a pot of money through their local NHS and play an active role in deciding how it could best be spent to benefit their health, with guidance from clinicians.

By doing this, people can make their own decisions on their care needs, which could be particularly beneficial for those suffering from complex conditions.

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said: "We made a commitment to personal health budgets in the coalition agreement and this is the next step to making them a reality for thousands of patients."

Following successful pilot schemes in recent years, the programme was officially launched in November 2012 and will see up to 56,000 people on the NHS Continuing Healthcare scheme having the right to ask for personal health budgets by April 2014.