This is available to any carer who has a loved one staying in a Cygnet mental health hospital, specifically those within Cygnet’s Health Care division.
An advocate will help the carer to express their views and make sure their voice, opinions and experiences are properly heard.
Announcing the new provision, David Wilmott, Executive Director of Nursing at Cygnet said: “We understand having a loved one admitted to hospital can be stressful and we recognise it is a difficult time for carers, which is why we are providing this advocacy support.
“We expect a lot of carers will want as much help to find out information about their loved one, the mental health system itself or in accessing support from the Local Authority for themselves in their caring role. We also want advocacy to help carers ask questions and express any worries so that we can become aware of any queries or concerns at the earliest opportunity and work to resolve them together.”
The advocacy service is one of many initiatives Cygnet has introduced to support families and carers as they deal with the range of emotions and questions they experience when a loved one is in need of mental health care.
The advocacy support will be provided by Black Belt Advocacy who have delivered support, training and qualifications to the Independent Advocacy community since 2007. They have a long history of supporting the very best practice within advocacy.
They have a dedicated advocate who will be available daily. The best way to contact the Carer advocate is via phone, or email. If the phone is not answered, please leave a message and they should get back to you within 24 hours.
Black Belt Advocacy can be contact in the following ways:
Tel: 0808 175 0787
Email: [email protected]
This service is dedicated to support carers and is very distinct from the advocacy service that is available to patients, who already have access to advocacy through a dedicated service for patients and residents.