General advocacy toolkits pilot launches
A pilot of three new toolkits for general advocacy has started – with the aim of empowering people we support to advocate for themselves.
The toolkits each focus on a different area of general advocacy, and are some of the most common reasons for a general advocacy referral.
These are:
- Raising a concern
- Care Act assessments
- The rights of voluntary patients under the Mental Health Act
The month-long pilot – due to run until the end of October – is taking place in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and two London boroughs.
Anyone who is referred for general advocacy in these areas will be provided with a toolkit as appropriate, with advocate support available to anyone who wants it.
This approach is the same as the one we use for our NHS complaints advocacy – where around 30 per cent of people have been able to self-advocate following a referral using our NHS complaints self-help toolkit.
VoiceAbility will be gathering feedback from clients who use our new toolkits, before deciding on the next steps.