Advocacy

You may need some help to say what you want. An advocate can help you do this.

An advocate can also help protect your rights, represent your interests, find things out for you, and help you get the support you need.

An advocate can help you if you find it difficult being involved in planning your social care support, and there is nobody else to represent or support you to take part in your assessment, support planning or review.
An advocate can also help you if you are involved in an adult safeguarding enquiry and it is felt that friends or family might not be able to support you.
Advocates are independent from West Sussex County Council or their partner organisations (such as hospitals, or mental health services).
Independent advocates can help you if you are in hospital, residential or nursing care, or if you live in your own home.
They do not tell you what to do, or make judgements about you. Instead they will support you to make choices and say what you want from services.
If you are not able to say what you want for yourself, they will find out what is important to you, and make sure anybody making decisions takes this into account.
This service is free of charge.

If you think it will be difficult for you to be involved in decisions about your health or social care, then think if you know somebody who can help you.

It does not need to be a family member; it can be a close friend.

If there is nobody able to help you at the moment, then try and tell the social care worker or health care worker that you need help to get involved.

Support services

Healthwatch West Sussex provides a free and independent health complaints advocacy service, which helps local people explore options for getting their voice heard when they feel something has gone wrong with their health service.

Advocates support local people to explore their complaint options and can provide practical assistance, ranging from help in writing a complaint letter, attending a resolution meeting, and putting your complaint to the Health Service Ombudsman.

You can find out more on the Healthwatch West Sussex Website, which also has a range of self-help material and guides.

You can contact this service on:
Phone: 0300 012 0122
Email: helpdesk@healthwatchwestsussex.co.uk

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If you have great difficulty being involved in planning your social care support, and do not have someone else to represent you, West Sussex County Council (WSCC) and its partnership organisations must under the Care Act provide you with an (ICAA).

Independent Care Act Advocates can help you:

be fully involved in your social care assessment, care planning, and review
if WSCC are supporting you because you are at risk of abuse or neglect.

An Independent Care Act Advocate can:

listen to you
obtain information for you, or put you in touch with someone who can
investigate other sources of support
find out what your rights are
help you to plan any action you may need or wish to take
spend time with you preparing for meetings
attend meetings with you
help you to put across your viewpoint to others
link with relevant agencies on your behalf

The Independent Care Act Advocacy Service is provided by a partnership organisation. Referrals to the ICAA service are made through your social care worker or health care worker.

If you are a social care professional working for an organisation external to West Sussex County Council you can make a referral for an individual using the online form.

Online Advocacy Referral Form.

You can contact Adults’ CarePoint for more information.

Online: online enquiry form

Phone: 01243 642121

NGT Text Relay: 18001 01243 642121 (For deaf callers from a textphone or the NGT Lite app downloaded onto a computer, tablet or smartphone).

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The IMCA service is provided by POhWER, you can find out more on the POhWER website.

The Independent mental capacity advocacy (IMCA) service helps you if you:

are assessed as lacking mental capacity
are over 16
do not have an appropriate family member or friend to.

The IMCA service can support you in the following situations:

When decisions need to be made about your future long- term accommodation moves, such as from hospital to residential care or serious medical treatment.
If you are assessed under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and there are no appropriate family members or friends to support you, or you need help to understand your rights.
If you are involved in an adult safeguarding investigation and there are concerns that your family members or friends will not be able to support you or act in your best interests.

Referrals to the IMCA service are made through your social care worker or health care worker.

You can contact Adults’ CarePoint for more information.

Online: online enquiry form

Phone: 01243 642121

NGT Text Relay: 18001 01243 642121 (For deaf callers from a textphone or the NGT Lite app downloaded onto a computer, tablet or smartphone).

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The (IMHA) service is provided by Mind, you can find out more on the Mind website. Mind provides two types of advocacy.

Independent Mental Health Advocacy helps you if you:

are detained in hospital under the heath act
at risk of being detained in hospital under the mental health act
are under Community Treatment Orders (CTOs).

Referrals to the IMHA service can be made by yourself or by asking somebody directly involved with your care and treatment to do this with your permission.

Contact the IMHA Service Central Office on

Phone: 01273 666950

Email: info@mindcharity.co.uk

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You can get support if you

experience mental health issues and live in the community
have agreed or asked to stay in a mental health unit voluntarily
live in the community and want to access mental health services because you believe you have an undiagnosed mental health condition.

You can find out more about community advocacy on the Mind - Community Advocacy website.

Contact the Mental Health Community Advocacy Service on

Phone: 01273 666950

Email: info@mindcharity.co.uk

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Last updated: 28 January 2025