Supporting Mohammad - Personal Injury

What were the challenges?

Mohammad sustained life-changing injuries after a car accident and is unable to speak to the people around him to plan his care and treatment. Following a litigation claim from his person injury insurance his Case Manager is procuring a rehabilitation team to support him in all areas of care such as Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Psychology and Advocacy. His Case Manager came to Connected Voice Advocacy to ensure Mohammad’s views and wishes are upheld in all the plans for his rehabilitation. Mohammad’s injuries were significant and he was left unable to communicate verbally so the advocate delivered non-instructed advocacy in a ‘watching brief’ approach which involved regular observation and questions of people giving him care within eight domains of quality of life.

 

What advocacy support did we provide?

The advocate:

• Investigated what was important to Mohammad before his accident
• Consulted with Mohammad’s family and friends and support network to find out what was important to him and his beliefs and values
• Learnt about Mohammad’s hobbies and how he used to spend his time
• Contributed to decision-making processes on behalf of Mohammad to make sure his views, wishes and beliefs were at the centre of all plans
• As part of a Multi-Disciplinary team the Advocate ensured that Mohammad was always at the centre of plans and decisions
• Made sure that all the professionals around Mohammad worked within the Mental Capacity Act and tried to involve him as much as possible in any decisions
• Met Mohammad regularly to get familiar with him and his routines
• Visited regularly and checked that Mohammad was receiving the care and treatment that he was entitled to such as routine dental, ophthalmic, medical check-ups and vaccinations
• Checked that Mohammad was responding well to his rehabilitation sessions and feedback on any issues raised

 

What difference did our advocacy support make?

The ongoing advocacy has helped with a range of decisions, some significant, such as where Mohammad will live in the community when the time comes to leave his rehabilitation centre.

There have been several medical decisions made for Mohammad while he has been in rehabilitation such as whether to fit a suprapubic catheter, whether to have a COVID-19 vaccination and the Advocate helps to weigh up the issues and balance risk based on how Mohammad made his own decisions in the past around similar issues.

Some decisions related to who Mohammad spends time with. In order to keep him safe from some visitors who were deemed to be a risk for his safety the Advocate ensured that safeguarding decisions were taken with Mohammad’s perceived wishes in mind. When making decisions for people it is important to remember what their past decisions were on the same subject and allow people to make unwise choices sometimes.  Having contact with others was important for him so his team had to figure out a way to uphold his right to see his friends within a safe framework.