Personal health budgets provided by the NHS are being spent on items other than medical treatment – including games consoles, holidays and horse-riding.
Pulse magazine uncovered the details after making a Freedom of Information request.
Of the 209 clinical commissioning groups in England, around 15% offered data about personal health budgets – which according to an NHS spokesperson “give patients more control over the care and support they receive.”
Personal health budgets
Personal health budgets have been phased in over the past year and are aimed at patients with long-term conditions that require considerable out-of-hospital care.
They are intended to be spent upon ‘therapies, personal care and equipment’. A budget is allocated to each patient and a care plan agreed with their GP or NHS team, describing how the money will be used.
It is hoped that the £120 million scheme will help a patient achieve their individual needs, rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
Boat trips, massage and games consoles
But instead of spending the money on treatment that is proven to have some benefit, patients are using their budgets on non-medical therapies and other treats.
In one area of Cornwall, £267,000 was given to a total of five patients, of which £2,080 was spent on aromatherapy, £248 on horse-rising and £7.34 on pedalo hire.
Other items that were purchased with personal health budgets include a sat-nav, a tablet computer, shiatsu massage, summer houses, games consoles and holidays.
Not an “appropriate use of money”
Nick Watson, a professor of disability research at the University of Glasgow, has suggested that patients do not always know how best to use the money to promote their own health.
“Part of the reason people go to medical school is to find out how best to treat patients. Pedaloes and shiatsu don’t strike me as an appropriate use of money”, he said.
“I’m not arguing that people should not be involved in what healthcare they take, but I do think there has to be an evidence base that it would work. That is a chief requirement for the public funding of healthcare interventions.”
Richard Vautrey, deputy chairman of the British Medical Association’s general practitioners’ committee, said: “While individuals may value a massage or summer house, others will understandably start to question why they can’t also have such things paid for by the state.”
Medical negligence lawyer
If you or your loved one has suffered substandard medical care and you would like expert legal advice regarding your options, please get in touch with us at Glynns Solicitors.
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