Direct Payment for Health care: A consultation on proposals for regulations and guidance

Added on 23/10/2009
Updated on 09/08/2010

This consultation document seeks views on the Government's proposals for piloting direct payments for health care. This is part of a wider pilot programme to explore personal health budgets.

Personal health budgets are intended to help create a more personalised NHS, by giving people more control over their care. PCTs are already able to offer personal budgets that do not involve giving money directly to individuals. The Health Bill, which has now completed its main Parliamentary stages, would extend these options by providing power to allow direct payments, where the individual would be given the money to buy their own health care as agreed in a care-plan.

The consultation document describes how we intend to use the power in the Bill to make regulations to enable pilot sites to test direct payments. The Impact assessment for direct payments for health care was published as part of the wider regulatory impact assessment for the Health Bill, this can be found on the DH website

This consultation is specifically about the direct payment method of giving a personal health budget. However, many of the proposals here will be equally relevant to other forms of personal health budgets.

To respond to the consultation, please either complete the response template and return it or write to:

Personal Health Budgets Team,
Richmond House,
79 Whitehall,
London,
SW1A 2NS

Or e-mail: personalhealthbudgets@dh.gsi.gov.uk

This consultation will run from 23 October 2009 to 8 January 2010

DOCUMENTS

EXTERNAL LINKS