Written question asked by Linda Riordan (Labour) on Wednesday, 25 January 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 30 January 2012. It was answered by Paul Burstow (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Pain

Question: (2) what steps he is taking to ensure that people with chronic pain will be able to access personal health budgets in the absence of a quality outcomes framework for chronic pain.

Answer: Personal health budgets offer patients more control and choice over how their outcomes are met. They are currently being piloted across England. Over 2,700 people have been recruited into, an independent evaluation programme. Around half of them will have personal health budgets; the remainder are in a control group. Although it is likely that many people with chronic pain (either as a primary condition or as a consequence of a long-term condition) are involved in the pilot, we do not yet know how many, or to what extent their needs are being supported through a personal health budget.However, the evaluation team will gather information and report on the health needs that people have, including chronic pain. The final evaluation report is due in October 2012.It is the Government's longer term aim to introduce a right to a personal health budget for people who would benefit from them, subject to the results of the evaluation of the pilot programme. This could include people with chronic pain. A number of anecdotal case studies from the pilot programme include people using personal health budgets to improve their pain control. These include people using their budgets to access services such as massage, hydrotherapy, or acupuncture.

Secondary information