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ARRANGING ADULT CARE

Care and support

"I want to find out how to get the help and support I need."

Advocates

Do you want to continue to live at home?

We know it’s important to keep your independence and stay living in your own home for as long as possible.

We’ve put together some great advice, along with details of many services and support groups that can help you with this.

Learn how to get help and support to stay independent

If you do not feel able to speak for yourself, or find it hard to understand things, don’t worry. You can ask someone to help you. This is known as ‘advocacy’.

If you don’t know someone who can help, you can ask us to arrange for an independent advocate to support you.

Who is an advocate

An independent advocate is:

  • a trained professional who can help get your opinions heard
  • paid by us to help you
  • not professionally involved in providing care or treatment to you or your carer.

Using an advocate

An advocate can be used at any time when your care and support needs are being considered. For example, they can help with:

Who an advocate supports

An advocate can support people who:

  • find it hard to make decisions about the care and support they need
  • feel they are not being actively involved in a decision, or who have difficulty in understanding what is happening with the care and support processes
  • have no appropriate person, such as a family member, carer or friend who can support them.

How an advocate can help

Your advocate will:

  • get to know you so they can support and represent you when decisions are made about your care
  • express your views, beliefs and wishes
  • advise you of your rights and make sure they are central to any discussion about your care and support
  • look after your wellbeing and best interests
  • know about adult social care processes and be able to explain anything that you find difficult to understand
  • challenge council decisions about your care and support if you don’t agree with them.

Please note: if your advocate is provided by the council, we may also talk to your family or friends to help arrange the right support and care for you.

How to request an advocate

If you think you could benefit from an advocate, discuss it with your care worker or:

Call customer services on 01482 393939

Please note: we organise the advocate on your behalf. You are not able to choose them yourself.

Accessing care and support