Retelling you history over and over to professionals anc earers can be tiring for clients. At Advent Advocacy we look for ways to smooth the transitions.
I am an advocate with Advent Advocacy. I’d like to share a story of how I supported a client, Jane, to speak up and helped her to reduce her anxiety about the move to a new service and a new advocate.
Jane had been placed inappropriately at one of the services where I deliver advocacy, following the closure of their previous ward. Since Jane arrived at the service, she had expressed how unhappy she was and how she felt she didn't need to be in hospital and really wanted to be closer to home. Jane met with me weekly, and I supported through many ups and downs and various ward rounds, CPAs, best interest meetings and tribunals, with the consistent message that she wanted a more appropriate placement to be identified, closer to home.
The MDT at the service and community team worked hard to find a placement as soon as they were made aware of how unhappy she was. But due to the lack of a more suitable provision, she remained at the service. Eventually, after months of advocating for her, a placement was finally identified that was more suitable and everyone felt much happier.
Whilst pleased about the new placement, Jane was anxious about explaining herself and her background to a new advocate and how it would take her time to build a new relationship. To alleviate, this I asked if she would like me to find out who her advocate would be, and handover to them to make the transition a bit easier. Initially she said that she didn't want a different advocate, but then agreed to the handover and thought it was a good idea. Jane was happy for me to share my knowledge of her with the new advocate.
With the Jane’s permission, I was able to contact her new advocate to explain some of her complexities and provide some tips for what works best for her, providing an overview of her history and family input.
Moving to a new surrounding and meeting new people is challenging for everyone regardless of their context. By working with the client’s new advocate, I was able to help them be introduced in advance of their first meeting and help them to build a positive rapport quickly. Sharing this with Jane helped to reduce her anxiety about the move and removed the need for her to have to retell her history to another new person.