Have Your Say on Health Spending

People with arthritis can now have a say in health spending. Arthritis Research UK is asking patients for their view on a new approach to the way that their treatment is funded by the NHS. According the Arthritis Research UK , a 'personal health budget' is an amount of money that is allocated to patients to spend on meeting their health care and well-being needs. This would not include treatments provided directly by a doctor, such as medication or surgery. The government is piloting this approach for people with a long term illness or disability in almost half of the primary care trust (PCT's) in England. What ever your views on personal health budgets are, Arthritis Research UK wants to hear them. They have designed a survey for you to tell them your thoughts. You can access it via www.arthritisresearchuk.org/personalbudgets They will then use the information to inform the Department of Health of your needs, to complement the findings of the national pilot. For further information on health budgets go to www.dh.gov.uk/personalhealthbudgets