NHS Central and Eastern Cheshire - North West SHA

Key focus/scope

The NHS Central and Eastern Cheshire pilot is in partnership with Cheshire East Local Authority and Cheshire Centre for Independent Living. The pilot will concentrate on people with continuing health care (CHC) needs.

Overview of pilot and its purpose

The pilot aims to provide a balanced experience for the people involved and influence future good practice models.

A detailed evaluation of the pathways under the existing service model was done with people in the CHC programme, including a review of needs and complexity along with the care packages and support structures currently in place.

The pilot will highlight gaps and duplications with the existing service and develop a new model to deliver improved quality outcomes for people's quality of life and clinical wellbeing. Payments via the Empower pre-paid card and improved audit processes are in place to ensure that the right support is available to cash personal health budgets holders through the PCT.

The pilot will focus on an initial cohort of 10 people. These numbers are relative to the general population and the population with continuing health care needs, and will comprise people already on an established care package and those new to the programme.

Objectives of pilot

The pilot aims to:

• develop a system and support framework through which people accessing services can be offered a personal health budget
• learn from personalisation workstreams in social care and align the personal health budget process as closely as possible
• promote choice, flexibility and control for people and their carers
• evaluate effectiveness and adapt processes to improve the patient experience and effectiveness of personal health budgets
• develop care plans and reviews that will help to deliver people's aspirations and goals.

This information has been provided by NHS NHS Central and Eastern Cheshire.