Personal Budgets in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Personal Budgets in the UK - Essay Example According to the paper, in response to the increasing demand and the rising public expectations based on choice and quality, the government decided to act. It set out to transform the way in which care and support were offered for the older and disabled adults. At the heart of this transformation was a very powerful idea that would potentially revolutionize how the disabled and older persons received their care. The idea was basically based on personalization. That is, instead of commissioning care and support services for people living in its area, the local authority would provide eligible persons with their own personal budgets so they could acquire help and assistance that would be more attuned to their individual needs and circumstances. Personalization is aimed at giving the people more choice and control over the kind of support they acquire. It is defined as the ability of an individual to determine what type of support to get despite the mode of payment used by the one seeki ng healthcare services. These may include direct payment or personal budgets. Direct ayments are defined as the direct cash payments given to service users in lieu of community services that are in demand based on assessments done they are aimed at giving a wider choice to the clients. Personal budgets on the other hand describe the allocations given to users after assessment which meets their assessed needs fully. This is all in part of the government’s wider agenda to improve efficacy and responsiveness of public services. These personal budgets can provide flexibility, choice and control to the service users. Further, they can improve health and well-being and ultimately, user satisfaction.