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A MAP OF INDEPENDENT ADVOCACY ACROSS SCOTLAND

WESTERN ISLES ADVOCACY

NHS WESTERN ISLES

The Western Isles NHS Board area covers: Lewis; Harris; North Uist; South Uist; Barra, Benbecula, and outlying islands.

There is one local authority:
Comhairle nan eilean Siar (Western Isles Council)

Advocacy Planning Process

So far, NHS Western Isles have taken the lead in assessing the need for independent advocacy within the Western Isles, in commissioning the new advocacy organisation and in supporting it to get launched and up and running. The lead commissioner for NHS Western Isles has also initiated a series of training events on advocacy for health and social work staff, including a high profile visit from a leading citizen advocacy co-ordinator in America. Other than this, the formal advocacy planning structures and processes, incorporating the whole range of relevant stakeholders, have yet to be established.

Advocacy Organisations in Western Isles

Project details

• Independent (awaiting charitable status)
• Professional (initially) and Volunteer advocacy
• Generic (priority given to service users and other vulnerable people)
• Western Isles

Total Statutory Funding for Western Isles Advocacy in 2003/4

The total statutory funding for the Western Isles is 25,000, all for independent, individual and generic advocacy.

Gaps in Independent Advocacy

• Children and young people
• Need for advocates in Western Isles Hospital
• Additional advocacy co-ordinator needs to be based in Uist
• Mental health advocacy provision insufficient to cope with new legislation
• Collective advocacy needs to be developed
• Formal administrative support is required for the co-ordinator of Advocacy Western Isles

Priorities for Development

• All of the above are urgently required
• In addition, the advocacy planning process needs to be formalised and linked into other decision making structures and funding streams
• Housing and Education Departments to be included in ongoing advocacy planning process
• 3-year Funding commitments
• Ongoing monitoring and review of advocacy provision is required to assess whether it is adequately meeting needs
• Advocacy Western Isles needs to be widely publicised to potential referrers and users
• Investment needs to be earmarked for independent evaluation of service within its first three years of operation, and thereafter every three years
• Ongoing programme of training for statutory staff

Conclusions

The challenges of providing independent advocacy to all who might need it, within a sprawling remote rural area like the Western Isles, are self-evident. Therefore, the fact that Advocacy Western Isles is up and running, and has already attracted a number of skilled and committed volunteers, within a relatively short time scale, is an impressive achievement. The commissioner for the Health Board, in particular, is to be congratulated for her commitment to getting the organisation set up.

Nevertheless, to sustain Advocacy Western Isles a higher level of funding will be required, especially given the duty which the new Mental Health Act will impose on NHS Boards and local authorities to ensure that advocacy is available, along with the associated right of those affected to access it. In particular, the financial contribution of Comhairle nan eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) will need to increase. The current percentage of total local authority spending (0.02%) which goes to advocacy is not adequate to meet need.

The challenge will now be to establish a more formal advocacy planning process, separate from the management of Advocacy Western Isles, so that both funding partners can re-assess the level of funding that is required for independent advocacy and take strategic action to ensure that it is prioritised within their budgets.

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