Macclesfield Wilmslow and District Citizens Advice Bureau runs the Advocacy Service based at the Springbank Centre (part of Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust) in Victoria Road, Macclesfield.

What do we mean by Advocacy? 

Advocacy is pleading the cause and/or acting on someone else's behalf to gain services to which they are entitled, or to safeguard their rights.

Although family, friends and health professionals may be able to advocate on a patients behalf there may be reasons why this is inappropriate and it is then that a client needs our service.

Details of the Advocacy Service 

The service provides independent mental capacity advocacy to clients lacking capacity under the definitions of the Mental Capacity Act and independent professional civil advocacy to support service users and user groups in developing towards self-advocacy and aims to help people to:

• Regain power to make their own informed choices
• Speak for themselves or have their view put forward on their behalf
• Have their views considered and responded to so that any desired changes will be made

The service is commissioned to help adults (aged 16 - 65) who have mental health needs within eastern Cheshire and is available to patients on the adult wards of the hospital and to service users in community locations and via the community teams.

The service is proactive in making patients and staff regularly aware of the availability and function of the advocacy service. Similarly the team will regularly attend Community Support Groups and other meetings in community locations to raise awareness of the service.

This service operates under the same aims, objectives and principles as the CAB Advice service but is distinct from and complementary to our CAB core business. The Advocacy service helps people with mental illness express their views and these clients often have benefit, debt and housing related issues which can be referred to the bureau for assistance. Many of the clients using the bureau have mental health needs and have spells in hospital and can then be helped by the Advocates. It is all part of ensuring that those people in need of justice and assistance get access to the help they need.

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