B3 Ways organisations represent interests of service users Flashcards
What is charities?
Many voluntary organisations or charities represent service users when they need to contact and liaise with official agencies
(MENCAP supports service users in liaising with organisations such as their local council housing department, social services or other health and care professionals.
Shelter provides advice, guidance, and support for people with housing problems and will represent them when they liaise with council officials, landlords and applying for housing benefit, organisations also provide support with complaints, patient groups in hospitals represent the needs of patients and also support individuals making complaints.
Many charitable groups act as pressure groups , campaign on behalf of the individual members that they represent. For example, may write to the papers, use social media, organise demonstrations and contact members of parliament or local councils to raise awareness of service users needs and request improvements to services.
NSPCC campaigns to encourage government to introduce policies and laws regarding child protection
What is advocacy?
If a client has a serious communication problem, an advocate may speak on their behalf. For example, clients may have a learning difficulty, a speech impediment. Poor literary skills, limited grasp of English, lack confidence when talking with professional health and care workers.
In health and care settings advocates are usually volunteers. They work with individual service users, getting to know them well and building a trusting relationship to accurately represent the needs, wishes, preferences of client to professional workers and official organisations when needed. May be through attending care, completing forms, writing letters/ emails on client’s behalf
What is complaints policies?
All care settings have formal complaints procedures. The settings have a responsibility to ensure that service users, and, where appropriate, their family/ informal carers understand the use of complaint procedures in reporting poor care quality.
If service user complains, they have a right to:
Have complaint be efficiently dealt with in timely manner
Have complaint be formally investigated
Be told the outcome of complaint
