POhWER

West Northamptonshire Council commissions the charity POhWER to provide advocates for its adult service-users.

What is Independent Advocacy?

Independent advocacy means supporting people to understand information, express their needs and wishes, secure their rights, and represent their interests if they have substantial difficulty doing so themselves.

People who work as independent advocates can:

• Provide support for the person who lacks mental capacity or has substantial difficulty being fully involved
• Represent the person without capacity in discussions about any proposed course of action or treatment
• Provide information to inform what is in a person's best interest
• Question or challenge decisions that are not in the best interests or need clarification for the person lacking capacity
• Present the individual's views, wishes and interests to inform the decision maker for a 'Best Interest Decision' by the professional during the process
• Access health and social care records to support and represent the person

Types of Advocates

West Northamptonshire Council commissions four different types of statutory advocates. These are:

• Independent Mental Capacity Advocates (IMCA) including Deprivation fo Liberty Safeguards (DOLS)
• Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHA)
• Independent Health Complaints Advocates (IHCA)
• Independent Care Act Advocates (ICAA)

How to Get an Advocate

If you need independent advocacy, you can refer yourself to POhWER using the forms below:

POhWER: Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) Referral Form (MS Word 194KB)

POhWER: Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA) Referral Form (MS Word 182KB)

POhWER: Independent Health Complaints Advocate (IHCA) Referral Form (MS Word 179KB)

POhWER: Independent Care Act Advocate (ICAA) Referral Form (MS Word 193KB)

If you have any questions about these referral forms, please call POhWER on 0300 456 2370.