In the UK as a whole the most recent estimate from an Action for Advocacy survey is that 55.4% of advocacy organisations provide services for people with learning disabilities, although there is growing concern about the precarious nature of funding for many of those services. The IHAL report points to the argument that the development [read the full story…]
Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHAs) help patients who are under the Mental Health Act to understanding the position they are in, look after their rights and make the right decisions about their care and treatment. Independent advocacy has been around for many years, but there have been very few evaluations of mental health advocacy to [read the full story…]
A number of recent inquiries have highlighted the concern that people with learning disabilities may on occasion be denied access to their basic human rights. The authors of this study set out to explore this concern in relation to approaches to risk management taken in services, which they suggest may focus too much on professional [read the full story…]
National policy in the UK surrounding the support of people with learning disabilities stresses the autonomy of people in receipt of support and the need for those who support them to maximise this. However, support workers also have a duty of care and can find these two policy objectives in conflict with each other. The [read the full story…]
Maximising choice and control are key elements of policy in relation to supporting people with learning disabilities, but it is recognised that the choice of where to live and with whom is often denied to people, especially with severe or profound learning disabilities. The researchers in this USA study set out to understand the current [read the full story…]
The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, which were introduced as amendments to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 on 1 April 2009, are designed to protect vulnerable people against overly restrictive care while they are in hospitals or care homes. This second annual report on Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards uses data provided every three months by English [read the full story…]
The Independent Mental Capacity Act Advocacy (IMCA) service was established in 2007 following concerns expressed during the implementation of the Act that there was a need to provide extra support in the Act for the most vulnerable people. The purpose of the service is to help those vulnerable people who lack capacity facing decisions made [read the full story…]
This study set out to look at how an inclusive approach to data analysis in a research project with a group of self advocates increased the group’s capacity for self advocacy. The researchers presented numerical data in three visual formats for analysis, which were analysed and interpreted by 17 members of a People First group [read the full story…]
Self determination is a key thrust of current learning disability policy and indeed sits at the heart of the personalisation agenda in adult social care. This study worked with 17 people with learning disabilities, using interviews to help gather information to help improve our understanding of what impact self determination was having on their lives. [read the full story…]
Effective and meaningful engagement and involvement of people with learning disabilities in the services and support they receive is at the heart of current policy, with considerable effort being put into its promotion. This article looks at the live experience of involvement of people with learning disabilities who use services using a focus group methodology. [read the full story…]
