Thousands of people with autism and learning disabilities could be given personal budgets for health and social care.
The UK government hopes the budgets will give people more control over their care.
Minister for care Caroline Dinenage: she thinks personal budgets have the power to improve quality of life
Minister for care Caroline Dinenage said was right to involve people in important decisions about their care.
Personal budgets for up to 350,000
The government says up to 350,000 extra people may be able to take up a personalised budget.
It hopes that putting more power in the hands of patients will reduce complaints and improve satisfaction with services.
Under existing arrangements, only adults and children receiving continuing NHS care have the right to a personalised budget.
Reports suggest that at the moment around 23,000 people have personal budgets.
Much wider entitlement
But the Government is going through a consultation on extending this right to other groups. These groups would include individuals with autism and learning disabilities who are eligible for ongoing NHS care.
Other groups set to benefit are those with ongoing mental health needs and people leaving the armed forces. So, too, would wheelchair users and those with ongoing social care needs.
Dinenage said the move would “improve quality of life”. It would also offer “good value for money for the taxpayer”.
Money in the budget can be spent on anything likely to meet the person’s health needs. However, a health professional needs to sign off all items.
New guidance for older people with learning disabilities
Meanwhile, new guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence advises health and social workers to help organise regular health assessments for older people with learning disabilities. Click here to read it.
The guidance says older people with learning disabilities may find it difficult to express their needs and make themselves heard.
Mencap and the Challenging Behaviour Foundations, said: “We welcome this extension of the personal budgets programme, but the scheme must also be properly funded to reflect the level of care and support required, with safeguards in place to guard against cost cutting.
Potential for greater choice
“With the right advocacy and support in place behind it, this has the potential to give people with a learning disability and their families greater choice and control over the support they need.
“It also has the potential to address longstanding issues around control of funding within the Transforming Care programme, where families have battled to get their loved ones out of in-patient settings, and funding to support them in the community.
“Personal budgets may empower families to take on this challenge, which the NHS and local government have so far failed to adequately address.”
Related:
- NHS watchdog demands community care
- New NHS guidelines shift care provision
- Call for radical change in care
Published: 25 April 2018
