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All Four Seasons Health Care staff are expected to protect and uphold the rights of Resident/Patients at all times. This may involve facilitating access to local advocacy services, particularly if the Resident/Patient lacks the capacity to seek representation for themselves. This will be in their best interests and be the least restrictive of their basic rights and freedoms

Advocacy means to speak up for someone.  Most of us at sometime in our lives speak up for others or hope that someone will speak up for us when we need support.

There are some groups of people who may need more help than others.  This may well be with many of the Resident/Patients in our care who due to either physical and or mental frailty are not always able or feel able to articulate their wishes.

Resident/Patients can then be at risk of being ignored. Sometimes staff have lots of problems understanding what Resident/Patients are trying to tell them if they do not use words.

Advocacy is about making things change because people’s voices are heard and listened to. It’s about making sure that people can make their own choices in life and have the chance to be as independent as they want to be within the confines and structures of a Care Home. With independent advocacy it is about another person (an advocate) making sure that a Resident/Patient is not being ignored because they need some help to make sure that they are heard.  Advocacy within the context of the Care home is about putting a person back in control of their own life as far as possible

What an Advocate does

An advocate works to make things happen and change.

• An advocate helps people to make choices and take more control of their own life.
• An advocate works for everyone to have equal rights.
• An advocate tries to make sure that people in Resident/Patient care are not left out and lonely.   They should have the same chances as everybody else to be included in their community.
• An advocate helps people to say what they want and makes sure that the voice is listened to and answered

What an Advocate does not do

• An advocate is not a referee in a dispute or argument.
• An advocate does not take the control away from the person they are advocating for by persuading them into his/her way of thinking.
• An advocate does not take over the role of a social worker or a nurse or a care worker either, or make up for gaps in services that should be provided. There is no right kind of advocacy and there are many different ways it can be offered.
• People are very different and may need different types of advocacy at different times in their lives. We need to make sure that there is choice that suits the differences of the people who want what advocacy has to offer. In that way they will gain the most from it.
• What is common to all types of advocacy is that the person who it is for (in this instance the Resident/Patient in our care) is always at the centre of the advocacy process. It is all about what that person wants, and finding the best way of getting that across to the people who need to know.
• Advocacy can be like tools in a tool box, the different types can be used together or separately depending on the job that needs to be done.

Different types of Advocacy

Self advocacy

This is speaking up for yourself.  It is what most of us do most of the time.  It is the best kind of advocacy where people feel able and willing to do so. This should always be worked towards.

Many Resident/Patients are good at speaking up for themselves. Sometimes they find it hard to get others to accept this or to listen to them. As when receiving care they can be perceived as being less than able to determine their own care needs, social needs and requirements Resident/Patients meetings are a good way of encouraging this. Self-advocacy groups are often groups of people who use services or have the same interests locally. They work together to make sure they have a say in how those services are run. They are a very good way for people to support each other and they can help to build confidence so that people feel more able to speak up for themselves.

Peer advocacy

This is when the advocate and the advocacy partner share similar experiences or environments. This happens for example between Resident/Patients who may live together in a Resident/Patient part of a care home, those experiencing mental ill health being cared for in a dementia unit and those requiring nursing care. It sometimes means that people who have experienced the same things feel they have a better understanding and can be more supportive.

Citizen advocacy

This is where someone else speaks up on behalf of the Resident/Patients or helps them to speak up for themselves. It is based on the idea of a 'valued citizen' (i.e. someone who does not have a problem getting heard), working with a person who is discriminated against. The relationship may develop into friendship or just working together to develop the Resident/Patients skills or confidence to manage their own situation. Citizen Advocates usually come from a recognised and coordinated scheme.

Crisis advocacy

This is where an advocate is found to help with a one-off difficult situation or crisis. The advocate may be someone who is already a Citizen's Advocate.

Professional advocacy

This can mean experts in a professional field, such as lawyers, being commissioned to speak up on behalf of an individual service user or group. They may or may not receive payment for acting as an advocate.

Collective advocacy

This is where a group of people, sometimes from very different backgrounds, campaign on behalf of themselves or others to try and change things. This could be a national organisation or a local one focusing on either national or local issues.