ORganisations that support service users

Question 1

How do charities / patient groups support people?

Answer 1

Represent the service users when they need to contact and liaise with other official agenciese.g. mind charity - represent their service users and support them if they are liaising with other organisations such as local council housing department, social services etc.

Question 2

How does an advocate represent the interests of a service user?

Answer 2

Advocate may speak on their behalf. Getting to know them Build trusting relationship so that they can accurately represent the needs, wishes and preferences of their client to the professional workers Attend care meetings, completing forms, writing letters or emails on the clients behalf. e.g. clients may have learning difficulty, a speech impairment, poor literacy skills, a limited grasps of English or lack confidence when talking with professional health and care workers.

Question 3

How does a complaints policy help to represent the interests of service users?

Answer 3

All care settings MUST have formal complaints procedures The setting has a responsibility to ensure that their service users, families and other informal carers, understand how to access and use complaints procedure if they are unhappy with quality of care provided. All processors and outcomes of any complaints will be checked whenever the setting is inspected.

Question 4

How does a whistleblowing policy help to represent the interests of service users?

Answer 4

Provide protection for staff who tell the press/ other organisations (outside the setting) that the quality of care at their workplace is dangerously poor. e.g. if they report a situation to the media, the police or to a professional body in order to heighten aware of the problem and to bring about change