Personal Health Budgets have been introduced to enable people to play an active role in managing their health and to work with health professionals as an equal partner to achieve their healthcare goals and aspirations. 

They give children, young people and their families the opportunity to use the budgets in innovative ways rather than from traditional NHS services. 

You can use a Personal Health Budget to buy services from: 

• government agencies

• independent agencies

• voluntary sector providers 

The budget could also be used to employ a personal carer in the home.

Find out more: Personal Health Budgets.

To be eligible to receive a personal health budget in Hackney a child or young person must be registered with a GP in Hackney or The City of London and have been assessed as being eligible for NHS Continuing Care funding.

Firstly, the child or young person’s needs will be assessed and an estimate of the budget will be provided by a local support team. 

The support team will help the family to write a support plan which sets out how the budget will be used.

Once the plan is agreed the budget will be available to use to secure appropriate services.

There are three options to choose from when you are given a Personal Health Budget. 

Number one - Direct payments:

Money will be paid into a dedicated Personal Health Budget bank account.  This will enable the parent or carer to buy services or equipment agreed as part of the child’s support plan. They will need to keep financial records and receipts to show how they have spent the budget.

Number two - a third party holds the budget for you:

The family can nominate someone else – either an organisation, a family member or another person they trust - to look after the child’s health budget.

Number three - the NHS holds your budget:

Things stay as they are now and NHS staff will continue to arrange and pay for the services and support needed.

You may wish to use a combination of all these options, for example:

A family may wish for the agency they had chosen to hold the budget as a third party for some of their care needs and the remainder of the budget to stay within the NHS as a notional or managed budget for their nursing care needs.

A personal health budget can be used for any services, activities or equipment that have been identified in the support plan.

These could include:

• employing carers or personal assistants to support the child in the home

• paying for activities which help you to be more active in the community

• aids, adaptations and equipment to help manage day-to-day tasks.

Personal Health Budgets cannot be spent on:

• illegal activities
• alcohol
• tobacco
• gambling
• day-to-day household expenses 
  
  

Note: Having a Personal Health Budget will not affect any benefits that a child or their family may be receiving because it is for care needs and is not classed as additional income.

Contact the local NHS Personal Health Budget Support Team who will be happy to talk to you about the service.

email: nelcsu.chc@nhs.net 

Phone: 020 3688 1000           

If you are aged 0-18 and have been assessed as eligible for Continuing Health Care and a Personal Health Budget contact Community Children’s Nursing Team (CCNT)

This team is made up highly skilled nurses who care for children in Hackney and the City of London.

The service is based at Hackney Ark and supports families to manage health conditions at home preventing hospital admission.

It also helps children or young people get home from hospital stays more quickly and helps support them at home so they can enjoy family life and being more independent. 

Young people 18 – 25 years old and older should contact:

Adult Community Nursing Team

Adult Social Care in Hackney

Integrated Learning Disabilities Service - Adults

City and Hackney CCG patient information - Personal Health Budgets