Safeguarding Adults - Liam's Story

What were the challenges?

Liam was in his early 50’s and had a progressive, life-threatening neurological condition. At the time of the referral he needed 24-hour care and was in a residential care home. Due to his neurological condition Liam had lost his ability to speak.

Liam’s condition deteriorated significantly but before Liam lost his ability to communicate he was able, with help from a friend, to raise concerns about the care he was receiving. Liam did not feel the care home provided him with the correct level of care or were able to manage his care needs due to his condition. Although he had his friend helping him Liam was concerned that he might lose the ability to communicate entirely or might not live long enough to see the investigation concluded. He therefore wanted an advocate to ensure his voice, views and wishes were heard and ensure he was fully involved throughout the safeguarding investigation. Sadly, Liam died before the safeguarding investigation had concluded.

 

What advocacy support did we provide?

Liam’s Advocate:

• Researched Liam’s neurological condition, on being allocated to his case, and gained knowledge about how quickly someone can deteriorate and the potential for this to impact on his ability to communicate. As a result, the advocate prioritised his case.
• Contacted the referrer to inform them of allocation and to gain more information.
• Visited Liam within a few days and was able to establish clearly from Liam what his views and wishes were and what he would like as an outcome from the enquiry
• Ensured Liam could communicate his views and wishes fully by using communication methods including a grid pad (touchscreen tablets - some with eye gaze technology - developed for people who are non-verbal or have difficulty with speech or language skills). Accessible 
• Stayed with Liam for as long as was needed to ensure he was happy that he had shared everything he wanted to share. The advocate read back to him what notes she had taken to ensure had she captured his views, feelings and wishes accurately. Person centred.
• Contact Adult Safeguarding to inform them of her involvement and, as instructed, fed Liam’s statement into the investigation to ensure his voice was heard.
• Was clear with the referrer and safeguarding what her role was. 
• Ensured Liam could continue to be represented throughout the safeguarding enquiry. Empowering.
• Raised concern around the procedure when a person dies as this usually results in the advocate role ending too.  The advocate challenged this due to Liam’s direct wishes for her to continue to represent him throughout until the enquiry concluded and when he was no longer able to. Clarity of purpose
• Secured funding (with support from Connected Voice Advocacy managers) via commissioners to allow advocacy to continue after Liam’s death. Independent, Equality and diversity
• Challenged some of the findings from the safeguarding investigation. Safeguarding.
• Remained involved until the safeguarding investigation concluded with support from her managers. Supporting advocates

 

What difference did our advocacy support make?

• The advocate ensured Liam’s voice was heard throughout the Safeguarding investigation before and after his death.
• The advocate was able to challenge inaccuracies on Liam’s behalf.
• The outcome from the enquiry resulted in changes to policies and procedures within the care home. For example they identified areas for improvement and agreed to address them, which should prevent further hospital admission for residents with ever-changing complex needs.
• The safeguarding enquiry highlighted systemic issues. Rather than a blanket rule of closing a case once an individual dies both in advocacy and Adult Safeguarding, this should be looked at on a case by case basis.  If Liam had not had an advocate to challenge on his behalf after his death, these systemic issues may not have been identified.
• The advocate was able to share details with Liam’s family and friend (directly instructed by Liam to do so before his death), allowing the family to have closure and feel satisfied that Liam’s voice was heard and taken seriously.

Please contact us if you think an advocate can help you or someone you know.