Health funding in Surrey Heartlands
Continuing healthcare
Some people with long-term complex health needs qualify for free social care arranged and funded solely by the NHS. This is known as NHS continuing healthcare.
NHS continuing healthcare can be provided in a variety of settings outside hospital, such as in your own home or in a care home.
NHS continuing healthcare is for adults. Children and young people may receive a "continuing care package" if they have needs arising from disability, accident or illness that cannot be met by existing universal or specialist services alone.
Continuing healthcare in Surrey Heartlands
Individual funding requests
On an individual basis, there may be situations where a clinician believes that their patient’s clinical situation is so different to other patients with the same condition that they should have their treatment paid for when other patients would not.
In such cases, NHS clinicians can ask request, on behalf of a patient, to fund a treatment which would not usually be provided for that patient. This request is called an Individual Funding Request (IFR).
Individual funding requests in Surrey Heartlands
Personal health budgets
A personal health budget is an amount of money to support your health and wellbeing needs, which is planned and agreed between you (or someone who represents you), and your local NHS team. It is not new money, but it may mean spending money differently so that you can get the care that you need.
A personal health budget allows you to manage your healthcare and support such as treatments, equipment and personal care, in a way that suits you. It works in a similar way to personal budgets, which allow people to manage and pay for their social care needs.