The first eight sites to blend health and social care funding for individuals have been announced, in a move to give users more control over their personal care.
NHS England and the Local Government Association (LGA) have named the first wave of the Integrated Personal Commissioning programme, providing 10,000 high-need service users with more power over how they spend their own combined health and social care budget.
The ‘radical power shift’ will allow older people with long-term conditions, children with disabilities and their families, people with learning disabilities, and people living with serious mental illness to decide on what blend of support they would like.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: ‘Councils have made great strides in introducing personal budgets for people, who through personalised care and support are able to live independently.
‘People are best placed to decide what support they need to enable them to live full and independent lives. Through our work with the integrated personal care programme, councils will be able to join up health and social care budgets, offer support to help people navigate the system and have their voice heard and give the best information and advice.’
The successful sites are in Barnsley, Cheshire West and Cheshire, Luton, Stockton on Tees, Tower Hamlets, Hampshire, Portsmouth and a consortium in the South West.
