Barriers faced in being heard:
Client M needed support at his ward round* to put requests forward on his behalf. Client M felt he was doing well with his community leaves but needed more unescorted leave to demonstrate that he was ready to move on from hospital. He felt advocacy gave him more confidence in meetings and helped him prepare what he wanted to say.
Advocacy undertaken:
- IMHA supported M in his MDT to put his case for increased unescorted leaves forward.
- IMHA read out M’s requests and M also put his own views forward explaining he wanted to demonstrate he was ready to move on from hospital.
Outcomes:
As a result M's Responsible Clinician was clear of M's reasons for wanting more time off the ward and was confident enough to able to increase his leaves as requested.
*Ward rounds are the focal point for a hospital's multidisciplinary teams to undertake assessments and care planning with their patients.