Advocacy

 What is advocacy?

Advocacy is free, independent and confidential support that makes sure you are involved in important decisions about your health, care and wellbeing.

Advocacy is about getting support to have your voice heard. It is a service that helps you gain the confidence to express your views and wishes, to understand your rights and take control of your life.

What is an advocate?

An advocate is a professional who is independent of services. They will stand by you and help you to have your say in challenging situations.

An advocate will help you to get the right information and understand your options so that you can make more informed decisions.

An advocate will never tell you what to do or make decisions for you. 

An advocate can support you to speak up for yourself, or speak up for you.

When can an advocate help me?

Here are some examples of when an advocate can help:

• When you are using or need to access health or social care
• When you are feeling overwhelmed and struggling with confidence
• When you are facing a life changing decision such as what care you may need or where to live to stay safe and well
• When you need support to feel fully informed and involved in decisions such as medical treatment,
• When you are being stopped or prevented from doing something
• When you are being treated badly or feel unsafe
• When something is going wrong, and you want to tell someone or make a complaint

What type of advocacy do I need?

There are different types of independent advocacy.

Some advocacy is informal like Early Help, Parent Advocacy or Community Mental Health Advocacy.

Other advocacy is defined by legislation such as Care Act, Independent Mental Health Advocacy and Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy.

How can I find out more and if I am eligible for advocacy?

A social worker can tell you more about advocacy and how to put in a referral.

Call the First response Team on 01925 443322

In Warrington we also have the Speak Up Advocacy Hub.

They have lots of information on their website www.warringtonspeakup.org.uk

They can tell you what advocacy they provide and who can have it.

If they are not the right service they will tell you which advocacy service is.