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A Personal Health Budget (PHB) is an amount of money allocated to support someone’s health and wellbeing needs, which is planned and agreed upon between the individual or their representative, and their local NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB). It isn’t new money, but a different way of spending existing NHS funding to meet the needs of an individual. At the centre of a PHB is the support plan.

A PHB allows you to manage your healthcare and support such as treatments, equipment and personal care, in a way that suits you. It works in a similar way to personal budgets, which allow people to manage and pay for their social care needs.

A PHB will allow an individual to purchase services, support, activities, and some types of equipment to achieve the health and wellbeing outcomes agreed with their local ICB.

There are some restrictions in how the budget can be spent and having a PHB does not entitle someone to more services, more expensive services, or preferential access to NHS services.

Who can receive a Personal Health Budget?

The right to have a PHB applies to people who are:

  • adults receiving NHS continuing healthcare (NHS-funded long-term health and personal care provided outside hospital);
  • children receiving NHS continuing healthcare;
  • people who are referred and meet the eligibility criteria of their local wheelchair service and people who are already registered with the wheelchair service when they need a new wheelchair or specialist buggy (either because of a change in clinical needs or the condition of the current chair- these people will be eligible for a personal wheelchair budget);
  • people with mental health problems who are eligible for section 117 after-care as a result of being detained under certain sections of the Mental Health Act (this does not include detention under section 2 of the Act).

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