Direct payments and personal budgets

Personal health budgets are provided by the NHS to help people manage their health care in a way that suits them. Adults and children receiving NHS Continuing Healthcare have a right to have a personal health budget.

A personal health budget is an amount of money to support your identified health and wellbeing needs, planned and agreed between you and your local NHS team. The aim is to give people with long-term conditions and disabilities greater choice and control over the healthcare and support they receive. You can use your personal health budget for a range of things to help you meet your goals, including therapies, personal care and equipment.

If you already have a personal budget for care and support from social services and your NHS team agrees, you can also have a personal health budget and ask for both to be paid into the same account.

Child's personal health budget

If your child is living with a significant or complex health need that requires care over an extended period, you may be eligible to receive NHS continuing healthcare or NHS-funded nursing care. To find out more, go to NHS Continuing healthcare page.
Children receiving NHS Continuing Care have a right to have a personal health budget.

Adult's personal health budget

Adults receiving NHS Continuing Healthcare have a right to have a personal health budget. In Herefordshire, we offer personal health budgets for people aged 18 years and over, registered with a Herefordshire GP, living in their own homes who are eligible for fully funded NHS Continuing Healthcare. To find out more, talk to the person who helps most with your care and support, such as your care manager, family doctor, or see the NHS Continuing healthcare page.

For further information visit the NHS personal health budgets page and the NHS England personal health budgets page.

The Peoplehub website is a good place to talk with other people who have a personal health budget.

Fraud prevention privacy notice

If you request financial support from Herefordshire Council to pay for care, the personal information we collect from you will be shared with fraud prevention agencies who will use it to prevent fraud and money-laundering and to verify your identity. If fraud is detected, you could be refused certain services, finance, or employment. View further details of how your information will be used by us and these fraud prevention agencies, and your data protection rights, on our Fraud prevention privacy notice.