Independent Care Act Advocacy
Updated: Aug 20, 2021
Independent Care Act Advocacy makes sure people have a say about their care and how they are supported. In her blog, Independent Care Act Advocate (ICAA), Marie talks about how she supported Julie (not her real name) to be heard around her care & support needs and discharge from hospital.
Julie was referred to me, her advocate, while she was being cared for on a rehabilitation ward following a stroke. As a result of the stroke, Julie had some memory loss and was assessed to lack capacity to making a decision about where to live and the risks of living independently. In order to decide the most appropriate place for Julie when she was ready to leave the hospital, her social worker arranged a Best Interest Meeting. This means that the professionals supporting Julie would look at all the information and decide where they think the best place is for Julie to move to.
Over time Julie had often said that she wanted to be moved closer to her family in the South East of England. This meant moving out of the county, in the South West of England, where she was being cared for.
As her advocate it was my role to:
Make sure Julie’s views and wishes remained at the centre while the teams assessed her needs and looked at different options. By advocating for Julie to the hospital and Adult Social Care (ASC) teams, she was heard consistently by everyone involved in the decision-making process. Consequently, Julie’s wish to live closer to her family was fully explored and included in her adult needs assessment and care & support plan. This meant that anyone arranging Julie’s care must take notice of what Julie wants.
Keep Julie informed of any meetings where she was being discussed and to support her during the Best Interest meeting. Feeling involved in these meetings meant a lot to Julie and more importantly made sure that her best interests were at the centre of any discussions.
Make sure the people making the decisions followed the Best Interest process. A Best interest decision was made that Julie required residential care and that a short-term placement was necessary within the county whilst homes in the South East were looked at by ASC.
After a short time in the temporary placement, Julie moved to the South East, which meant that she was close to her family and able to live in place that she had strong links with. Julie was delighted with this outcome. #Care #CareAct #Advocacy #HealthAndSocialCare