The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland has just launched three Good Practice Guides, one of which is ‘Working with Independent Advocates’.

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland safeguards the rights of people subject to Mental Health and Incapacity legislation. The Commission aims “to ensure that care, treatment and support are lawful and respect the rights and promote the welfare of individuals with mental illness, learning disability and related conditions.  We do this by empowering individuals and their carers and influencing and challenging service providers and policy makers.”

The Good Practice Guide addresses many of the common issues Ceartas faces as a Professional Independent Advocacy provider, and we welcome the recognition of these potential barriers:

We have heard of situations where advocates were excluded from important meetings, or were not given the information they needed to fully advocate on behalf of an individual. We have also heard from practitioners that they are often uncertain about what involvement the advocate should have, especially if an individual has impaired capacity in relation to involving the advocate.

You can find the Good Practice Guide here, on the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland website.