Advocacy services

Advocacy services are organizations that can act on your behalf when you are not satisfied with any aspect of your drug treatment. These professional organizations can act as your “voice” when you are finding it difficult to be heard in the treatment system. Where FARS is a signpost service that helps you enter into treatment, Advocacy organizations can help with your ongoing treatment.

Below is information on some organizations that provide advocacy services and their helpline numbers.

• PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Services) -NHS
• Alliance
• ARX (Advocacy Resource Exchange)

PALS - NHS

PALS – Patient Advice and Liaison service has been introduced to ensure that the NHS listens to patients, their relatives, careers and friends, and answers their questions and resolves their concerns as quickly as possible.

In particular, PALS will:

• Provide you with information about the NHS and help you with any other health-related enquiry
• Help resolve concerns or problems when you are using the NHS
• Provide information about the NHS complaints procedure and how to get independent help if you decide you may want to make a complaint
• Provide you with information and help introduce you to agencies and support groups outside the NHS
• Inform you about how you can get more involved in your own healthcare and the NHS locally
• Improve the NHS by listening to your concerns, suggestions and experiences and ensuring that people who design and manage services are aware of the issues you raise
• Provide an early warning system for NHS Trusts and monitoring bodies by identifying problems or gaps in services and reporting them.

Each PALS is part of a local network of PALS that work together to provide a quality service for patients and their family members and friends.

If you are not too sure which part of the NHS should deal with your enquiry, you can approach any PALS and they will do their best to help you. If your enquiry is not their direct responsibility, they will advise you of which PALS to contact or will make contact on your behalf if you wish.

The NHS employs PALS staffs; in some areas volunteers also work as part of the service. Staff and volunteers are expected to be accessible, approachable, efficient and professional. PALS staff will respect your right to confidentiality and will be respectful of your views and concerns.

Leaflets, posters and other publications about PALS should be readily available on NHS premises , giving details of the service and how to make contact with it.

• You can locate your local PALS office by using the online office directory - click http://www.pals.nhs.uk/splash.ASPX?NodeId=6
• PALS Farsi translated information: and flyer: http://www.pals.nhs.uk/CmsContentView.aspx?ItemId=998

The source of the above information is from PALS - NHS. This information has been summarised by and for FARS services. For the direct link to this source, click on: http://www.pals.nhs.uk/Default.aspx

Alliance

The Alliance is a user led organization, which provides advocacy, training and helpline services to those currently in drug treatment, those who have accessed drug treatment in the past and those who may access drug treatment in the future.

Its priorities are:

• To support the right of people to be directly involved in all decisions relating to their care
• To provide accurate advice and information on the rights of people receiving treatment
• To advocate on behalf of people receiving, in their opinion, inappropriate care
• To lobby for effective prescribing practices including, where appropriate, drugs of choice
• To offer a supported structure through which drug users can lobby effectively
• To promote harm-reduction
• To provide volunteer and employment opportunities for drug users
• To play a key role in research and education on drug use and treatment issues

The Alliance actively promotes the participation and involvement of drug users in its work. Service users and professionals work together as equals in a unique initiative to give drug users a real voice.

Advocacy: The Alliance has six dedicated members of staff and several volunteers providing advocacy services to users who feel that their needs are not being met by their drug services, their DATs or their GPs.

Initially, users approach the Alliance through the helpline service. At this stage, advice and information will be given to enable users to approach the services themselves and communicate their needs to them. If this is unsuccessful, the user will be referred to the advocacy service, which will act as a mediator between the parties involved, providing an overview of current pharmaceutical approaches and a balanced assessment of treatment possibilities and what is achievable in any given case. We negotiate between the treatment provider and the drug user to ensure each listens to the other's concerns with respect. Advocacy cases are usually processed through a combination of correspondence and face-to-face interventions.

Helpline: Every weekday between 12pm and 5pm, Alliance volunteers are available to give advice on issues surrounding drug use and maintenance prescribing.

Drug users and professionals use this service alike. It acts as a triage service through which cases, which are too complicated to be dealt with over the phone, are passed to our advocacy service. Helpline: 0845 122 86 08 , Email: info@m-alliance.org.uk

The source of the above information is from The Alliance. This information has been summarised by and for FARS services. For the direct link to the source the above information, click on: http://www.m-alliance.org.uk/index.html

ARX (Advocacy Resource Exchange)

Many people are not in a good position to challenge discrimination, speak out about bad treatment or living conditions or seek out good opportunities by themselves. People with learning or other disabilities and users of mental health services have greatly improved their life chances with the help of free one-to-one advocacy provided by other local people. Some advocacy schemes offer a range of support, enabling people to make themselves heard by joining forces, helping one another, or using either paid or unpaid advocates.

ARX offers services to help people to understand advocacy, to develop better advocacy services, to become an advocate or to find an advocate if they need one.

Call ARX Advocacy finder Helpline 08451 22 86 33 Monday to Friday, 2.00pm - 5.00pm Email: helpline@advocacyresource.net

The source of the above information is from ARX. This information has been summarised by and for FARS services. For the direct link to the source the above information, click on: http://www.advocacyresource.net/findadv/index.php