Doctors’ leaders have called for any proposed roll out of personal health budgets (PHBs) to be delayed until there is a clear understanding of the benefits, following BMA evidence which points to a lack of knowledge among doctors about the proposals.
Ministers are due to announce how they intend to take forward the policy of allowing some patients with long-term conditions to ‘purchase’ care packages directly using NHS funds. The BMA conducted a survey of doctors’ awareness and views of PHBs in September 2012. Over 200 doctors responded to an online questionnaire. The results shows that seven out of ten doctors felt they were not very well informed or not informed at all about the introduction of PHBs and that only one in ten doctors believes that PHBs will improve clinical outcomes for patients. Only around a fifth of doctors believe giving individuals control of the money the NHS spends on them will be effective.
