Advocacy
Advocacy helps to ensure that people’s voices, wishes and preferences are
heard, their rights are upheld, and their needs are met, particularly when they
have difficulty in speaking up for themselves or are concerned that they are not
being heard. An advocate helps an individual to express their needs and wishes,
and to weigh up and make decisions about options available to them. Advocates
can help people find services, make sure correct procedures are followed and
challenge decisions made by councils, health services and other relevant health-
based organisations. Advocacy helps protect human rights and plays a critical
role in safeguarding. The advocate is there to represent the person’s interest,
which they can do by supporting them to communicate, or by communicating on
their behalf.
Advocacy must be offered according to relevant legislation including Care Act
2014 and the Care and Support statutory guidance, Mental Capacity Act 2005
and its Code of Practice, Mental Health Act 1983 and its Code of Practice. In the
Care Act 2014, from the point of first contact, the local authority must appoint an
independent advocate if an adult would experience substantial difficulty in any of
these 4 areas: understanding the information provided, retaining the information,
using or weighing up the information as part of the process of being involved,
communicating the person's views, wishes or feelings. The Care and Regulation
extend the circumstances in which a person is entitled to an independent
advocate to where an assessment or plan is likely to result in a hospital stay of
more than 28 days or a stay in a care home for more than 8 weeks. An
independent mental capacity advocate (IMCA) must be instructed, and then
consulted, for people lacking capacity who have no one else to support them
(other than paid staff), whenever: an NHS body is proposing to provide serious
medical treatment or an NHS body or local authority is proposing to arrange
accommodation (or a change of accommodation) in hospital or a care home.
People are eligible for support from an independent mental health advocate,
irrespective of their age, if they are: detained under the Mental Health Act 1983
(excluding certain short-term sections), liable to be detained even if not actually
detained, including those who are currently on leave of absence from hospital or
absent without leave, or those for whom an application or court order for
admission has been completed, conditionally discharged restricted patients,
subject to guardianship, subject to a community treatment order, being
Advocacy helps to ensure that people’s voices, wishes and preferences are
heard, their rights are upheld, and their needs are met, particularly when they
have difficulty in speaking up for themselves or are concerned that they are not
being heard. An advocate helps an individual to express their needs and wishes,
and to weigh up and make decisions about options available to them. Advocates
can help people find services, make sure correct procedures are followed and
challenge decisions made by councils, health services and other relevant health-
based organisations. Advocacy helps protect human rights and plays a critical
role in safeguarding. The advocate is there to represent the person’s interest,
which they can do by supporting them to communicate, or by communicating on
their behalf.
Advocacy must be offered according to relevant legislation including Care Act
2014 and the Care and Support statutory guidance, Mental Capacity Act 2005
and its Code of Practice, Mental Health Act 1983 and its Code of Practice. In the
Care Act 2014, from the point of first contact, the local authority must appoint an
independent advocate if an adult would experience substantial difficulty in any of
these 4 areas: understanding the information provided, retaining the information,
using or weighing up the information as part of the process of being involved,
communicating the person's views, wishes or feelings. The Care and Regulation
extend the circumstances in which a person is entitled to an independent
advocate to where an assessment or plan is likely to result in a hospital stay of
more than 28 days or a stay in a care home for more than 8 weeks. An
independent mental capacity advocate (IMCA) must be instructed, and then
consulted, for people lacking capacity who have no one else to support them
(other than paid staff), whenever: an NHS body is proposing to provide serious
medical treatment or an NHS body or local authority is proposing to arrange
accommodation (or a change of accommodation) in hospital or a care home.
People are eligible for support from an independent mental health advocate,
irrespective of their age, if they are: detained under the Mental Health Act 1983
(excluding certain short-term sections), liable to be detained even if not actually
detained, including those who are currently on leave of absence from hospital or
absent without leave, or those for whom an application or court order for
admission has been completed, conditionally discharged restricted patients,
subject to guardianship, subject to a community treatment order, being
