The NHS Long Term Plan was published in January 2019 and includes a commitment to expand personal health budgets – including personal wheelchair budgets – so that 200,000 people can benefit by 2023/24. As numbers increase, it is important for people to be able to openly share their experiences of having a personal health budget, integrated personal budget or personal wheelchair budget – from their first conversation, to the ongoing care and support being provided.
NHS England commissioned the first national personal health budget and integrated personal budget survey in 2018. As a result of these findings (report), they have targeted areas for quality improvement where people are experiencing challenges, for example recruiting and employing personal assistants, and quality of information available to people. They are also working with local areas, and have delivered a series of eight regional workshops across the country for commissioners to help them improve their personal health budgets for NHS Continuing Healthcare – co-produced and co-delivered with people with lived experience of personal health budgets.
NHS England remain committed to understanding and improving people’s experiences, and are training more people with lived experience to influence systems and support individuals (p10, action 18).
NHS England has recommissioned this survey in 2019, with the addition of questions about personal wheelchair budgets. The survey findings will be used to prioritise the work NHS England does to support local and national quality improvement.
All personal health budget, integrated personal budget and personal wheelchair budget holders, whether current or historical, are invited to share their feedback about their experiences. NHS England would also like to hear from budget holders who filled in the survey last year.
The questionnaire should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
If you have any queries about the questionnaire or about how your information may be used, or if you require help completing the questionnaire, please call the FREEPHONE helpline number on 0800 783 1775. A translation service is also available if required.
This survey is being funded by NHS England, who have commissioned Quality Health to carry out the work. Quality Health has over 30 years’ experience in the NHS of managing staff, patient and service user surveys as well as the necessary data protection and data security accreditations for this work.
You will be asked to complete a questionnaire about your experiences of using a personal health budget, integrated personal budget or personal wheelchair budget as part of the package to meet your health and well-being needs. You will also be asked for your thoughts on the processes and outcomes involved.
The information you give will be added to that from other people who have completed the questionnaire to see if personal health budgets, integrated personal budgets and personal wheelchair budgets are being delivered well and making a positive difference. Your answers will only be used for the survey and the information you provide will have no effect on the service you receive.
All information will remain confidential and reports will not identify you.
If you consent to share your contact details they will be used only to send you a copy of the survey report. Your contact details will be securely saved on a computer server at Quality Health and by NHS England.
No, taking part is entirely voluntary. If you do not wish to take part, you do not have to give a reason and you will not be asked again. Similarly, if you do agree to take part you are free to change your mind at any time until you have completed and submitted the survey. It will have no effect on the service you receive.
Your responses to the survey will not be shared with anyone outside those involved in the survey. Your information will be kept confidential. If your responses are sufficient to identify you, the only time we might tell someone what you said is if we are worried that you or someone else may be potentially at risk of harm. Data will be kept securely, by Quality Health, until March 2020 at the latest, after which time it will be destroyed.
If you have any comments or queries about this survey, you can let us know by email:
England.personalhealthbudgets@nhs.net
Personalised Care Group
NHS England
Skipton House - 2D
80 London Road
London, SE1 6LH
If you have any concerns about how your responses to the survey have been used as part of this survey, please contact us at the address above. Further information on raising a concern and your right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office can be found from the link below:
https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/raising-concerns/
If you have any queries about the questionnaire or about how your information may be used, or if you require help completing the questionnaire, please call the FREEPHONE helpline number on 0800 783 1775. A translation service is also available if required.