Supporting, promoting and developing

independent advocacy in Gateshead

What is advocacy?

Advocacy is:

• Representing someone else's views and concerns as if they are your own
• Helping someone to gain the confidence and skills they need to make their own voice heard

How advocacy helped George

George is 78 years old and has dementia. George lived alone and was finding things a little difficult. His family thought it would be better if he was in residential care, so arrangements were made for George to move into a care home.

While George agreed to this he did not realise, until after a few weeks in care, that his family intended for him to stay there permanently. George expressed a wish to return home but his family were adamant he was better off in care.

An advocate was called in and quickly established George’s views and opinions, which were to return home with a care package to support him. The advocate ensured that professionals involved were aware of his wishes and also made contact with George’s family.

The advocate kept in contact with the social worker to ensure arrangements were made to explore George’s wish to return home, and advocated that George should be assessed for capacity under the Mental Capacity Act. The advocate visited George regularly to update him on the situation and liaised with professionals involved, ensuring George was on their ‘list of priorities’.

The outcome was that George was deemed to have capacity to decide where he should live and returned home with a care package. His family also had a clearer understanding of George’s rights and were consulted to ensure that the support George received at home was appropriate to his needs.