Tories to introduce personal budgets for health and social care

Paul Carter with the Conservatives in Birmingham

The Conservatives have pledged to introduce combined personal budgets for people with health and social care needs, as part of a mini-manifesto of NHS reform.

Speaking at the party’s conference in Birmingham, shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley told delegates that the Conservatives wanted to give patients greater control over their care and treatment, and put them “back in the driving seat”.

“Our plan means enabling people with long-term conditions to control their nursing and social care through a personal budget,” he said.

The proposals come from a new document, Renewal – Plan For a Better NHS.

Under the plans, people would be given a personal budget made up of a means-tested element for social care needs, and a free element covering healthcare needs.

It says: “If someone with a long-term condition, who is living at home, is able to be assessed through a single assessment process, which incorporates both health needs and social care needs, then a pooled budget could be determined for them.”

There is also a pledge that all mental health patients would be given single rooms.