Circles Advocacy Project, Edinburgh

C/O Royal Edinburgh Hospital
Morningside Place
Edinburgh
EH10 5HF

Tel No:  0131 537 6004
Fax:  0131 537 6004
Email: admin.edinburgh@circlesnetwork.org.uk

Project Development

Commencing in October 2004, the Circles Network Advocacy Project (Circles Advocacy) has been providing independent individual advocacy to the following people receiving services at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital:

• People living in the acute admission wards (Wards 2-6)

• People living in the Rehabilitation wards (Swanston, Ettrick, Craiglee and North Wing)

• People staying in the Intensive Psychiatric Care Unit (IPCU)

• People staying at the Orchard Clinic – a medium secure forensic unit for people who have offended

• People living in the Care for the Elderly wards (Canaan, Nile, Jordan, Kinnair, Wards 8 and 14) – which includes older people staying on ‘acute admission’ wards and those living more permanently on ‘continuing care’ wards.

• Since December 2006, to people living on the Robert Ferguson Unit, the only Acquired Brain Injury and Challenging Behaviour unit in Scotland. However, this is currently only on a case by case basis.

The Team

The project currently has a project leader, 4 full-time advocates and an administrator.

Katie James - Project Leader

Hi, my name is Katie James.  I was born in Londonderry, Northern Ireland but spent most of my childhood and adolescence in Biggar, Lanarkshire. I have had a varied and rewarding career so far, including work with Vietnamese boat refugees teaching the under 5’s basic English language;  working for the Overseas Development Administration maintaining overseas aid projects;  work as a Care Assistant;  social worker;  manager

of a home for older people; resource manager managing services for older people, and now as an advocate with Circles Network Advocacy Project, working specifically on the Care of the Elderly and Robert Ferguson wards. I recently returned to live in Scotland following 6 years of living and working in Spain.

Alex Campbell - Advocate

I have been involved in supporting people with mental health differences since 1990.  Since that time, I have learned from listening to people with mental health differences the frustrations they have felt in not having enough influence or control on matters concerning their care.  I have since begun campaigning for changes in the system. It has been exciting to see that the new Mental Health Act of Scotland, which took effect in October 2005, has addressed some of these issues, including the right for people to have an independent advocate.

I was even more pleased to be offered the chance to be part of this welcomed change by becoming employed as an advocate with Circles Network.  The need for advocacy in the Royal Edinburgh Hospital has been reflected in the number of people who we have already supported with a number of issues to do with their care and treatment.  There is also some early evidence that people are feeling encouraged to advocate for themselves, which is one of the most important part of our aims and objectives.

Ivan Barry - Advocate

I have spent 10 years working in mental health services, from drop in volunteering to support work in the community and residential settings. I have worked in private and state run services. I have been active in campaigning for improved services and have been involved in setting up and running new programmes in the UK, Ireland and in the USA, working with statutory partners as well as ‘user’ or ‘client’ groups in an effort to ensure that voices are heard and that services reflect that voice wherever possible. I have spoken at conferences and hosted workshops on a number of related mental health and social issues in the UK, Ireland and the USA.

I have assisted in the setting up of several groups for those who hear voices and have partnered up with clinical psychology teams and support professionals to provide training to those who wish to work with voice hearers more proactively.

Peter Le Riche - Young Person's Advocate

I am Peter Le Riche and am 40 years old. I have lived in Scotland for most of my life but have travelled quite a bit doing different, unrelated jobs along the way, such as an English Teacher, Zoo keeper, chef, and gardener among others. After obtaining my degree in Social Anthropology in the 1990s I became involved with mental health care and related issues. With the experiences I gained I became an Advocate working for Circles Network in January 2006.

I feel privileged to have obtained this invaluable and responsible position and look forward to contributing in helping individuals empower themselves by expressing their views and wishes.

Ryan O'Neill - Older Person's Advocate

The Circles Network Advocacy Project also provides advocacy to people living on the Young Peoples’ Unit at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. For further information, see Young Peoples’ Advocacy, Edinburgh.

Funding

Circles Advocacy is a joint commissioned project between NHS Lothian Primary and Community Division and the City of Edinburgh Council.  The project is an organisation independent from the Royal Edinburgh Hospital and the City of Edinburgh Council.

The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003

The Circles Network Advocacy Project is a direct result of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003. The Act gives everyone with a mental health difference, learning difficulty or personality disorder the right to access an independent advocate, i.e. someone to provide support and help to enable a person to express their own views about their care and treatment. The effective date of the Act is October 2005.

What is Independent Advocacy?

“Independent advocacy is a way to help you to make your voice stronger and to have as much control as possible over your own life. It is called "independent" because it is not tied to the people who provide other types of services. It does not make decisions on your behalf and it does not put words in your mouth. Instead it helps you get the information you need to make real choices and gives you help to get your choices across. Independent advocacy is there to help you decide what you want to say and then help you to say it.”

(Definition supplied by the Scottish Executive)

Circles Advocacy provides individual advocacy, working with people on a one-to-one basis. For collective advocacy, see the Patients’ Council web page.

What the Circles Network Advocacy Project can offer:

• Working at the REH, we are in a privileged position representing the views of people staying at the hospital. 
• The advocacy provided can take many forms including:
• Providing support by simply being present at a meeting
• Formally representing someone’s views at a range of meetings
• Speaking on behalf of people when asked to do so and facilitate the empowerment of people to speak for themselves in expressing their own  views with support from an advocate
• Supporting people who may not have previously given input into decisions affecting their care and treatment through facilitating  appropriate methods of communication for each person being supported
• For people who have difficulties expressing themselves independently or who are deemed to lack capacity, a safeguarding advocacy role will be available, in order to get a broader picture of a person's life and how best to act on behalf of that individual, acknowledging their beliefs, customs and views and former life choices or ways of being.
• Providing information on rights, practical issues and a range of community resources available
• Utilising Person Centred Planning tools to facilitate an advocacy role

Circles Network Advocacy Project at the REH believes:

• Everyone has the right to have a voice and be heard
• People have the right to access an independent person to support them in making their views clear, valued and recognised
• People have the right to be supported in a way which acknowledges their uniqueness and their specific situation
• People have the right to have access to information relating to their care and treatment and in turn have more control over their own lives
• Advocacy is an opportunity to facilitate empowerment through the use of person-centred planning tools and techniques

As a developing project which is both challenging and exciting, we would welcome any comments or suggestions you may have in order to make Circles Advocacy Project at the REH one which reflects the following vision……

“Circles Advocacy at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital will be an accessible, responsive and culturally sensitive place for all people who stay here.  It will be a place where people are recognized as equal individuals with talents, skills, needs and wishes.  We aim to provide an open and supportive space for people to be listened to, to speak up and to be heard”

Links to other organisations - click here for details

 Please contact us! 

Andrew Duncan Clinic
 Royal Edinburgh Hospital
Morningside Place
Edinburgh EH10 5HF

Tel No: 0131 537 6004

Fax: 0131 537 6004

Email: admin.edinburgh@circlesnetwork.org.uk

Circles Network Scotland

Scottish Charity number: SC038068

Send mail to: information@circlesnetwork.org.uk with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2007 Circles Network
Last modified: January 24, 2008