Personal Health Budgets

This is NHS funding, not a grant. It is not new money, money has been allocated to fund PHBs to support mental health recovery.

No, a PHB is NHS funding and is available as part of the mental health support provided by ELFT.

If a PHB is being used to access a service or activity, the duration of support should be based on the time needed for you to make suitable progress with the goal. A PHB is not suitable funding for ongoing care and support needs or support for daily living. 

The maximum amount of time a PHB can be used for is a year, however, all memberships will be set up for three months initially. There may be an opportunity to extend this once reviews have been completed, however, requests will never be extended beyond a year.

Yes, if a digital device is needed to help you work towards your mental health recovery goal, this can purchased with a PHB. 

If you do not have access to a smartphone and/ or data to stay in contact with support, you can access a ‘stay connected’ PHB for a smartphone and data. The phone and data provider are decided for you and purchased on your behalf.

The amount of money requested should be based on the goal and what is needed to progress with the goal. The way the PHB is approved is dependent on the amount being requested. 

If a specialist item or service is requested, information should be provided about why this is needed to meet the goal over other options. However, PHBs for mental health recovery are relatively small, one-off budgets. If larger funds are required, other funding options should be explored. 

Whilst there is a choice around your PHB, this is NHS funding, therefore the item selected should be based on what is required to support the goal over personal preference. This means you may be asked to research more cost-effective models for achieving your goal or refurbished items. 

You might have a long-term or bigger goal that you are working towards. A PHB may not be able to support you with everything you need to achieve that goal, however it may be able to support you with the first step.

The amount of money requested should be based on the goal and what is needed to progress with the goal. The way the PHB is approved is dependent on the amount being requested.

If a specialist item or service is requested, information should be provided about why this is needed to meet the goal over other options. However, PHBs for mental health recovery are relatively small, one-off budgets. If larger funds are required, other funding options should be explored. 

Whilst there is a choice around your PHB, this is NHS funding, therefore the item selected should be based on what is required to support the goal over personal preference. This means you may be asked to research more cost-effective models for achieving your goal or refurbished items. 

You might have a long-term or bigger goal that you are working towards. A PHB may not be able to support you with everything you need to achieve that goal, however it may be able to support you with the first step.

A person can only have one PHB open at a time (apart from with a ‘stay connected’ PHB). However a person can access another PHB once the original request has been closed at the 12 week review. If a second PHB is to be considered, once again the starting point is the mental health recovery goal.

Once the PHB has been closed, a further PHB referral can be submitted, however the request must start with a conversation to identify the person’s goals and planning should take place around what is needed to achieve the goals. Consideration should be made around whether the person has had enough time to make progress with their original goal.

You can only have one PHB open at a time (apart from a ‘stay connected’ PHB for a smartphone/ data). 

Once the initial PHB request has been closed (following two reviews), a second PHB can be requested to support the next stage of the same mental health recovery goal or a different goal. If the second request is within a year of the first, it will be reviewed by the PHB Oversight Panel who will make a decision about whether it is suitable to progress with the referral. They will want to understand how the first PHB supported you to get to your current goal and PHB request.

You cannot use a PHB to access the same item twice or to extend access to a service for over a year. When you are referred for a PHB, you should consider how you can continue with your goal once the funding for the activity or service ends.

Flexibility is a key principle of Personal Health Budgets for mental health recovery. PHBs can be used in a range of ways to support a person’s individual needs that may not be met through commissioned support or the community alone. However, there are some things a PHB cannot be used for. 

These exclusions: 

•  have been set by NHSE
• have been decided locally as there is more suitable funding available OR
• do not fit within the remit of mental health recovery. 

For a list of things a PHB cannot be used for, please email elft.phb@nhs.net.

Recovery is an ongoing process, it’s normal for changes or setbacks to arise along the way, therefore your goal or required support may change after a PHB referral has been submitted or once your budget has been set up.

Depending on the stage your PHB request has got to, it may be possible to make changes to your request. However, changes must not be made until they have been approved. Please talk to the member of staff who referred you if you wish to make changes to your PHB request or email elft.phb@nhs.net. Changes made without approval may be classed as a misuse of funds.

At the point of referral, a plan is completed with details of how the PHB will be used. You should receive a copy of this plan either by email or printed. Other information available to you includes a leaflet, a handout outlining your responsibilities around your PHB and the direct payment agreement.

Your mental health team
The planning of your PHB takes place between you and a member of staff in your mental health team. The member of staff will remain involved throughout the PHB process. Once your budget has been set up, they can support you to purchase your item or activity and will complete a review with you to find out how your PHB is supporting you. The ELFT PHB Implementation team: 

The team is responsible for helping staff and service users to consider how a PHB can be used to support mental health recovery. If you have questions about PHBs or would like to discuss a potential referral, you can contact elft.phb@nhs.net. 

The PHB brokerage service 
The external team that receives and processes PHB referrals. 

Prepaid Financial Services
When your PHB is agreed upon, you are set up with an account that holds the funds for your PHB request. You must use this account to purchase the agreed item or activity. The account is with an organisation called Prepaid Financial Services (PFS).

Once your budget has been approved, you are set up with a prepaid card account with an organisation called Prepaid Financial Services (PFS). As a financial provider, like banks, PFS run routine financial checks when setting up new accounts. Occasionally, they may request further information from an account holder to verify their identity. If this happens, the request will come via the staff member that referred you. If you have questions about the checks, you can contact elft.phb@nhs.net. 

When the financial checks are complete, the account holding the agreed amount will be set up. The member of staff who referred you will be sent details of this account to share with you. The account includes an electronic card with all the details you need to make an online card payment. This account also has an account number and sort code. 

If you need support to make the payment, the staff member that referred you or another member of staff from the mental health team can make the payment with you.

In exceptional circumstances, a prepaid card can be issued for the account. This gets requested at the point of referral. There needs to be a valid reason why a prepaid card is needed over an online account.

The PHB must be used to purchase the agreed support only. The account set up for you must be used to pay for the agreed item or activity directly. There are regular checks on accounts, therefore misused funds will be picked up. If the funds are spent differently to that agreed, you are likely to be asked to pay back the funds misused. It is also unlikely that you will be eligible to receive a PHB in the future. 

A document called a direct payment agreement sets out how the budget must be used and is reviewed and signed by you before you receive the funds. 

We recommend reading this again before making your purchase and emailing elft.phb@nhs.net if you have any questions about how you can use your PHB.

Once you are set up with the account that holds the agreed PHB funds, the member of staff who referred you will contact you to share the details of this account and how to activate it. They can support you to activate your account and make the purchase. Please contact them if this information has not been shared with you or if you need support. 

Purchases should be made as soon as possible. If your account has not been used within 4-6 weeks it will be locked and if the account has not been used within two months, it will be closed. Please contact the member of staff who referred you if you expect a delay in payment.

Feedback and stories are really important to us; they help us to promote PHBs, show the value of PHBs and learn from what’s working well and what can be improved. A review will be completed with you around 6 weeks and 12 weeks after your budget has been set up. 

At the review you will complete a questionnaire and will be asked about the impact of your PHB so far. If you would like to share further feedback, please contact elft.phb@nhs.net. There are different ways you can share your feedback. It could be in a conversation with one of the PHB team, a video, a recording, a written account or even photos.