Advocacy for older people in Wales

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Advocacy for older people in Wales

• Louise Hughes
• Project Manager
• Elder Abuse Project

2
Introduction

• Elder Abuse Project
• Advocacy Counts Reports
• Why advocacy rhetoric and reality
• Developing advocacy services best practice
• Examples of services across Wales

3
Elder Abuse Project

• Advocacy
• Access to Justice
• Financial Abuse
• Human Rights
• Legislation

4
Advocacy Counts Reports

• Funding
• Training
• Standards and definitions
• Increasing older population and the implications
  for advocacy
• Specialist advocacy
• Generic services
• POVA referrals

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Advocacy Counts (2007)

• Report on advocacy provision in Wales (2007)
  launched Oct 07 at the Sennedd
• Only 23 organisations actually stated they
  provided advocacy services
• 7 services would have funding reduced or it would
  be coming to an end
• Only 6 organisations clearly quoted a definition
  that they work to
• Identified the need for more training especially
  around specific types of abuse and human rights
• Repeat in 2008

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Advocacy Counts 2 - 2008

• Repeat survey launched in Nov 09
• 19 respondents specifically stated they provide
  advocacy to older people
• Equates to 1 paid advocate to every 35,000 older
  people
• Failure to deliver any significant increase in
  services
• Funding issues remain a significant issue
• Training in adult protection, human rights and
  basic advocacy skills.
• Standards and definitions

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Why Advocacy? the rhetoric and the reality

• National Service Framework for Older People
• National Minimum Standards for Older People in
  Care Homes
• House of Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights
• Mental Capacity Act Independent Mental Capacity
  Advocates
• Mental Health Act Independent Mental Health
  Advocates

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Older People in Wales Facts and figures

• People over 60 in 2001 was 657,700
• One paid advocate per 25,000 older people
  (approx)
• Estimated figures for 2011 are 772,000
• 22.7 of the population in Wales is over 60
• Care Homes approx 21,000 people aged 65 are in
  a care home
• Community services provided to almost 78,000
  aged 65
• Dementia approx 42,000 people in Wales affected
  by dementia, prevalence rates increase with age
  and are thought to be as follows
• 1 in 50 aged 65-70
• 1 in 20 aged 70-80
• 1 in 5 aged 80 or over

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Developing Advocacy Services Best Practice

• Local mapping
• Local networks
• Links with national networks
• Action for Advocacy
• Charter, Standards, Code of Practice, Quality
  Mark
• Older Peoples Advocacy Alliance (OPAAL)
• Advocacy Consortium UK (ACUK)
• Communication
• Sharing examples of service specifications
• Advocacy pathways / flowcharts
• Shared service protocolls

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Things to consider when developing a service
specification

• Independence
• Free from conflict of interest
• Realistic outcomes
• Monitoring including qualitative outcomes
• Funding
• Training and development
• Standards and code of practice
• Longer term issues development of service,
  issues for rural communities

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Volunteers

• Use of volunteers
• Recruitment, training, supervision
• Resources
• Investing in volunteers

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What is advocacy?

• It is not
• Befriending
• Counselling
• Mediation
• Legal
• Advice
• Impartial
• Dependency

• It is about
• Support
• Representation
• Empowerment
• Choices
• Rights
• Having a voice
• Making decisions

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Types of advocacy

• It is important to be clear what type of advocacy
  is being funded
• Issue based crisis advocacy
• Citizen advocacy
• Peer advocacy
• Group advocacy
• Complaints advocacy
• Instructed or non-instructed advocacy
• Dementia advocacy

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Examples of services across Wales

• Age Concern are the primary provider of older
  peoples advocacy services
• Generic Advocacy
• Dementia Advocacy
• Hospital and Residential Care
• Specialist abuse advocacy
• Financial advocacy
• Independent Domestic Abuse Advocates (IDVA)
• Independent Mental Capacity Advocates (IMCA)
• Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHA)
• Complaints advocates
• Mental Health Advocates

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Contact Details

• LOUISE HUGHES
• Project Manager
• Age Concern Cymru
• Suite 2,
• Daniel Owen Precinct,
• Mold,
• Flintshire,
• CH7 1XP
• 0845 310 3332
• louise.hughes_at_accymru.org.uk

• FFION JONES
• Project Assistant
• Age Concern Cymru
• Suite 2,
• Daniel Owen Precinct,
• Mold,
• Flintshire,
• CH7 1XP
• 0845 310 3332
• ffion.jones_at_accymru.org.uk