Personal Health Budgets: Gathering views from speakers of English as a second language
Download (PDF 152.04 KB)Summary of report content
Diverse Communities Health Voice is a consortium of local grass-roots black and minority ethnic community groups. The partnership is coordinated by Healthwatch Islington.
The CCG wanted to better understand the support that is needed for local residents to enable them to take up a Personal Health Budget, should they want one. They were particularly keen to hear from people with English as a second language and with two or more long term conditions. For this purpose they invited Diverse Communities Health Voice to carry out his piece of research.
Personal Health Budget allows patients with long term health conditions to take greater control of their healthcare and support by giving them more say on how the money is spent on their care, and on the services they receive.
Key findings from the report:
- Hardly any respondents had heard of personal Health Budgets.
- All respondents said they spoke to the GP about their long-term condition.
- 45 out of the 63 said they felt the health service was working together to support their care.
- 38 of the 63 of the respondents said they would organise their care differently if they had a Personal Health Budget.
- They said it would give them greater choice, flexibility and convenience, as well as the possibility of employing family members who know their needs and preferences.
- About one third of those spoken to had reservations about managing the budget and there were also concerns about how to prioritise the budget.