A personal health budget (PHB) is an amount of money that is spent on meeting the health and wellbeing needs of people, generally those with a long-term illness or disability. The NHS wants to make it easier for people to get the healthcare that best suits them. We think having a PHB is one way we can achieve this.
If you have a PHB, you will be able to use it for a range of things to help you meet your health and wellbeing goals, which should be set out in your care plan. It should be used to improve your health and wellbeing by paying for such as for treatments, equipment and personal care to meet your personal goals. The allocated money can’t be used for emergency care or care normally received from a family doctor. You are not allowed to spend the money on gambling, debt repayment, alcohol or tobacco, or anything unlawful.
In addition to these national regulations Bromley CCG does not allow PHBs to be used to purchase:
Although there are no further policy restrictions on the use of PHBs, they must not be used to purchase services that Bromley CCG has already commissioned. If you do want to use your PHB to purchase services that are already commissioned you will need to make a case for this in your support plan.
In the case of both managed budgets and direct payments, the CCG will assess the suitability of both individuals and companies to hold and manage these forms of budget.
Since 1 October 2014, NHS Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group has offered PHBs to local residents who receive 'NHS continuing healthcare'. This is for people who need support to stay well but who do not need to be in hospital. For example, this support could be provided for people with learning disabilities or people who are physically frail.