Fifty-two people with long-term health problems were interviewed nine months after being offered a personal health budget, as were 13 carers of budget holders three and nine months after the offer of a budget. Together they were drawn from 17 of the Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) that are currently piloting personal health budgets in England. These interviews suggest there is widespread potential for personal health budgets to lead to improvements in health and well-being. However, these benefits risked being reduced by delays and other problems in implementing personal health budgets
