Find out about how an advocate can help you, and who advocates can work with. This page also gives information about the role of an appropriate individual.

Changes brought in by the Care Act means that any decisions about your care will consider your well-being and what is important to you so that you can stay healthy and remain as independent as possible. To do this, it is important for you to be fully involved in decisions about your care and support needs. This is about you and what you need!

When can you get care and support advocacy?

Advocacy will be available during:

  • Your care and support needs assessment
  • Your care and support planning
  • Your care and support reviews
  • And for any safeguarding processes (if someone thinks that you may be unsafe or at risk of harm)

What will an advocate do?

An advocate can support you to:

  • Understand what is happening
  • Understand your choices to make your own decisions
  • Help you express to your views and feelings
  • Make sure you get your rights
  • Make sure that plans say what you need them to say
  • Decisions might have been made about you that you are not happy with. Your advocate can help you write a report about the things you don’t like. The advocate will write the report for you if you are not able to.

Who can get care and support advocacy?

You may be able to work with an advocate if you are:

  • An adult who needs care and support
  • A carer of an adult
  • A carer of a young person who is about to start using adult services
  • A young person who is about to start using adult services.

AND
You find it hard to:

  • Understand what is happening and the choices that you have
  • Decide what care and support you need
  • Tell people what you want

AND

  • You do not have any friends or family available (or who feel able) to support you
  • Advocacy is available if you live at home, in a care home or hospital, or if you are in prison.

How to get care and support advocacy

If you need care and support, you are eligible for advocacy.

Are you looking for information for a friend or relative?

Some people find making decisions about health and care needs very difficult. The Care Act gives the right for eligible people to get an independent advocate to help them:

  • Understand the care and support process
  • Be actively involved in discussions and make their own decisions about their care and support needs
  • Challenge plans made if they do not take account of the person’s wishes or feelings.

Independent advocacy is available for people who don’t have any friends or family or an appropriate individual available to support and facilitate their involvement in their own care and support.

Who can be an Appropriate Individual?

Friends, family or trusted professional who are available and able to safely support you to be fully involved with all of the social care processes.

People who are already providing paid-for care will not be able to support in this role.