Patients free to buy their care with NHS money

PATIENTS are set to be given money by the NHS to spend on healthcare services of their choice.

Care Services Minister Paul Burstow, who made yesterday's announcement, said the scheme would "put people in control" of the treatment they receive.

Eight pilot projects are being set up across the country – including one in South Yorkshire – which will road-test the first "direct payment" schemes.

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Primary care trusts (PCTs) will now give the money allocated for a patient's healthcare – called a "personal health budget" – directly to that patient, so they can decide how to spend it.

After being given the agreed sum, patients can decide whether to use NHS or private care services. They could also choose to employ a personal assistant in their own home.

Mr Burstow said: "This is an important step towards putting patients at the heart of everything the NHS does.

"Direct payments have real potential to improve the lives of individuals with long-term health needs by putting treatment choices in their hands."

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The direct payment scheme is designed to help patients with long-term health problems such as diabetes, stroke, heart disease and mental health conditions.

Doncaster PCT, which will be running the only pilot scheme in Yorkshire, will focus on mental health and "continuing healthcare" – care for people who have physical or mental problems and need care over a long period of time.

Other pilot schemes, which will all run until 2012, will be held in Kent, central London, Islington, Merseyside, Oxford, Somerset and West Sussex.

The cost of providing direct payments, which is not anticipated to be any more expensive than the current arrangements, will come from existing funding within the PCTs.

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Money will be paid to patients in a number of ways, including monthly direct payments or a lump sum for a one-off purchase such as a piece of equipment.

Mr Burstow said: "There is strong evidence from the social care sector that direct payments help achieve better outcomes and give people more choice and control over the care they receive."

He added: "Direct payments will not work for everyone or for all patient groups or services, but we want to identify whether, for whom and how they could offer an opportunity to help achieve the best health and wellbeing outcomes. That is why we are developing this pilot programme."

A woman from Doncaster who was put in control of the personal health budget for her father, who was suffering from dementia after a series of strokes, praised the project.

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Debbie Robinson, 51, said: "What was so good about the personal health budget was that I could make sure care was flexible.

"Dad died on 23 December, 2009. In the end, he only received his personal health budget for two and a half months. However, the scheme helped transform our lives beyond recognition."

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