Daniella, in her early 90s, faced a number of health issues when she was being cared for in a local mental health hospital. Prior to admission, she had been living on her own with support from carers, neighbours, friends and relatives who could help with daily tasks such as shopping, cooking and cleaning. Although her doctor considered her medically fit for discharge from hospital, a new diagnosis of early on-set dementia meant that Daniella was deemed to lack the capacity to make best-interest decisions about her long-term care.
Daniella required a pathway plan to be put in place for discharge from the hospital. She had a number of professionals involved in her case – her social worker, ward manager, discharge coordinator, specialist consultant, ward staff team, distant relatives and her Independent Mental Capacity Advocate, Sophie.
Daniella was keen to return home, believing her husband (who had passed away a few years earlier) to still be there to help her. Sophie talked through options with Daniella about her continued care and although she could see that Daniella struggled to maintain focus during their conversations, her role was to allow Daniella the opportunity to discuss the different scenarios available to her in a way that now best suited her communication needs.
Daniella expressed gratitude to Sophie for taking the time to speak with her and to all the professionals involved in her case. Although Daniella had been deemed to not have capacity to make informed decisions about her future care, it was important that she still had the chance to share her views and have her wishes known. Sophie was able to act on behalf of Daniella and relay information back to professionals with the hope that any best-interest outcome suited Daniella as well as keeping her safe.
Daniella was able to return home with a clear continued care plan in place and with feeling happy that she had been listened to. Her family felt reassured that she had the level of care she needed, but that she’d also had a voice in the decisions that were going to have an impact on her future.
Some of the details of these cases have been changed to protect the identity of the service users, along with photos. However, these are accurate examples of how we work with people as part of our Advocacy service, and the difference that the support can make to their lives.