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Skill mix: The potential for personal assistants to undertake health‐related tasks for people with personal health budgets.
- Source :
- Health & Social Care in the Community; May2020, Vol. 28 Issue 3, p922-931, 10p, 2 Charts
- Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- Personal health budgets (PHBs) are being promoted in England as expanding the benefits of choice and control to individuals with healthcare needs. National Health Service (NHS) money is provided to eligible people to use as set out in approved care plans, including direct employment of personal assistants (PAs). The government plans to increase NHS‐funded PHBs and to further introduce integrated personal budgets (IPBs). This potentially creates more demand for directly employed or self‐employed PAs with health‐related skills. The objective of this paper is to report findings from interviews with PAs (n = 105) and key informants (n = 26) from across England, undertaken between October 2016 and August 2017, about the potential for the PA workforce to undertake 'health‐related' tasks as facilitated by the introduction of PHBs. PAs were purposefully recruited to ensure the sample included participants from different geographical locations. Key informants were purposefully selected based on their knowledge of policy and community services. Data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. This paper focuses on reporting qualitative findings, which are set within the theoretical framework of normalisation process theory to explore implementation challenges of PHBs. The majority (64%) of PAs confirmed that they saw their current roles as congruent with PHBs, were willing to engage with PHBs and undertake health‐related tasks. However, 74% of PAs said they would need additional training if enacting such roles. Key informant interviews appraised the development of PHBs as complex, noting incongruences arising from NHS and social care‐funded PAs carrying out similar roles within different organisational systems. We conclude the current PA workforce is willing to take on PHB work and is likely to interweave this with work funded by PBs and self‐funding care users. Implications include the need for careful consideration of training requirements and delivery for PHB‐funded PAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- EDUCATION of social workers
ECONOMICS
NATIONAL health services
BUDGET
COMMUNITY health services
CONCEPTUAL structures
EMPLOYMENT
INTEGRATED health care delivery
INTERPERSONAL relations
INTERVIEWING
RESEARCH methodology
MEDICAL care costs
MEDICAL personnel
HEALTH policy
NURSING
PERSONNEL management
PROFESSIONS
RESEARCH funding
SOCIAL services
SOCIAL workers
GOVERNMENT aid
JUDGMENT sampling
OCCUPATIONAL roles
DATA analysis software
SOCIAL worker attitudes
JOB involvement
DESCRIPTIVE statistics
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 09660410
- Volume :
- 28
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Health & Social Care in the Community
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 142521696
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12923