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About our Advocacy Service

We provide two types of 'advocacy', 'Generic Mental health Advocacy' and 'independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA).

You can access our Advocacy Service yourself by phone or you can ask your support worker to contact us on your behalf.  Please see our contact details below.

More details of the type of advocacy we provide is as follows:

Our Generic Mental Health Advocacy Service is to help adult (aged 16-65 years) mental health service users in Sheffield have their say about the care they receive.  We can help with complaints, attend meetings eg Care Program Approach (CPA), appointments with psychiatrists etc.

We also offer the new Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) Service as well as our generic service.

An IMHA is a specialist type of Mental Health Advocate.  IMHA services provide an additional safeguard for patients who are subject to the Mental Health Act.  IMHAs are trained to work within the framework of the Act.  This service does not replace the generic mental health advocacy service and even if you are not entitled to an IMHA under the Act, you may still request a Mental Health Advocate.

IMHAs will help qualifying patients understand the legal provisions to which they are subject under the Mental Health Act 1983 and the rights and safeguards to which they are entitled.

IMHAs will also help qualifying patients exercise their rights.

Qualifying patients (of all ages) have a statutory right to an IMHA if they fit into the following categories:

• Patients detained under the Act (even if on leave of absence from the hospital)

• Conditionally discharged restricted patients

• Patients subject to guardianship

• Patients subject to Supervised Community Treatment Orders

Other patients (informal) are eligible if they are:

• Being considered for treatment to which Section 57 applies

• Under the age of 18 and being considered for ECT or any other treatment to which Section 58A applies

Which patients are NOT eligible for an IMHA (NB: they might still be entitled to a Generic Mental Health Advocate):

• Patients being detained on Section 4 until a second medical recommendation is received

• Patients detained under the holding powers of Section 5

• Patients in a place of safety under Sections 135 or 136

Our Advocacy Service is available Monday - Friday, 9.00am - 5.00pm and operates an appointment only service.

If you would like to see an Advocate, please give us a call using our Freephone number 0800 035 0396 to request an appointment.  Alternatively, you could ask your support worker or ward staff to contact us on your behalf.

Printable Leaflets in different languages: If you wish to print off a leaflet about our service, select the language desired below:

• Advocacy Service (Generic Advocacy) - English, Arabic, Urdu, Somali

• Independent Mental Health Advocacy Service  (IMHA) - English

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Contact Details:

Want to Know More about What We Do?

For more information about the kind of work we do with and on behalf of our clients, please see our annual reports as follows:

Advocacy: 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08,   NEW   2008/09

Registered Charity Number: 1089383

Registered in England & Wales - Registered Number: 4275776

(Sheffield Mental Health Advocacy Service is a project of Sheffield Mental Health Citizens Advice Bureau Limited)