Following a call for expressions of interest for sites across England to take part in the first trials of personal health budgets, 68 projects, involving a total of 75 PCTs, have been awarded provisional pilot status.

Lord Darzi first announced personal health budgets in his report High Quality Care for All last year. Under the proposals, patients will have greater involvement in how money is spent on their healthcare needs, giving them more control over what services they use and who provides them so they will be delivered in a way that best suits them.

Health Minister, Lord Darzi, said:

“I’d like to congratulate those sites who have been selected as provisional pilots. There is clearly real enthusiasm and energy across health and social care for this agenda. We were very encouraged by the overall quality of the applicants and look forward to working with as many sites as possible.

“During the consultation for the Next Stage Review, people said clearly and consistently that they want a greater degree of control and influence over their health and healthcare.

“The main aim of introducing personal health budgets is to support the cultural change that is needed to create a more personalised NHS. They have the potential to improve the quality of patient experience and the effectiveness of care by giving individuals as much control over their healthcare as is appropriate for them.”

All sites will now be subject to a robust assessment of their capability before gaining full pilot status later this year. Applications indicate that pilot sites want to look at a wide variety of areas ranging from people who have long term conditions or use mental health services to areas such as obesity or substance misuse.