Advocacy.

The Care Act makes it the duty of the local authority to provide independent advocacy for any individual who might experience substantial difficulty in being involved in the assessment process or in developing their care and support plan. 

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Many specialist advocacy services offer Care Act (care, support and safeguarding) Advocacy, Advocacy For People Who Lack Capacity, Children and Young Person's Advocacy, Deaf Advocacy, Social Care Complaints Advocacy, Self-advocacy Groups, Community Peer and Citizen's Advocacy, NHS Complaints Advocacy, Mental Health Advocacy, Post Incident Review Project

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You can ask your local authority directly for a Care Act Advocate, an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA), or an advocate for NHS complaints. You can also find independent services such as VoiceAbility or POhWER, (longer list of services below) who can advise you. 

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Having an advocate can be useful when preparing for assessments and deciding what level of care and support is required. It is important to remember you have the right to ask for an advocate and this person must be provided and paid for by the local authority.

 

However, the local authority is only obliged to provide an advocate if there is no family member, friend or unpaid carer who can play this role for the individual.

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Independent Advocacy for Carers:

An advocate is an independent professional who is on your side.

 

They can support you to have your say and know your rights.

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As way of an example:

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Rights might include reminding professionals of  'Section 181 of the Health and Care Act 2022 (the 2022 Act) introduces a requirement into the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the 2008 Act) and regulation 18 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 (the 2014 Regulations) that, from 1 July 2022, service providers registered with CQC must ensure their staff receive training appropriate to their role. It applies to all registered providers of all health and adult social care in England. 

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This requirement builds on the existing staffing requirements set out in regulation 18 of the 2014 Regulations which require registered providers to ensure staff receive such appropriate support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal as is necessary to enable them to carry out the duties they are employed to perform. CQC’s website sets out further details on regulation 18.​

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The 2014 Regulations describe the health and adult social care activities that may lawfully only be carried out by providers that are registered with CQC and set out the registration requirements that these providers must meet to become and stay registered. The 2008 Act and the 2014 Regulations are law and must be complied with. CQC has enforcement powers that they may use if registered providers do not comply with the law. 

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Section 21A of the 2008 Act, as inserted by the 2022 Act, places a duty on the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to issue a code of practice about compliance with the requirement for staff of registered providers to receive training. CQC will take into account the code and how registered providers are meeting and complying with the requirements of regulation.

 

​If a registered provider has not followed the relevant guidance contained in the code then they will be expected to give good reasons to CQC on why they have departed from it and be able to demonstrate that it meets the requirement in a different way.

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If you need a specialist advocate for your child or adult you care for it is your right as the appointed person, carer, parent or individual to request this level of expertise.

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Advocates don’t work for the council, the NHS, or care providers. When you work with an advocate, they will keep things confidential. You don’t need to pay for an advocate.

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Advocacy services provide support to vulnerable people, acting as an independent spokesperson to help them communicate their wishes, secure their rights, and access necessary services. 

 

Advocates help individuals involved in decisions about their care, education, health, social care, housing, or other aspects of their lives, assisting with understanding complex information, making choices, and expressing views to decision-makers. 

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'You can find advocacy services through your local council or specific charities, like The Advocacy People, POhWER, Mencap and VoiceAbility Carer Advocacy, SENDIASS Special Educational Needs Support and they can also provide information on how to find an advocate in your area. 

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Please note this is not an exhaustive list of advocacy or specialist advocacy services; please search locally or ask your clinical leads for FASD.