Helping Jack

What was the person’s situation before working with Advocacy Focus?

Jack was in a supermarket when he started behaving erratically and became confused and agitated. An ambulance was called and Jack was taken to hospital, where it was discovered he had suffered from a lacunar stroke. (A stroke in a deep area of the brain).

Whilst at the hospital, Jack remained confused and agitated and began to show verbal and physical aggression. His memory function was also impaired, and he believed he lived with his parents, who had both passed away.

Jack underwent a care assessment to see if he could benefit from continuing healthcare funding (CHC) and a recommendation was made for him to move to a 24 hour placement. As a result, Jack was moved into a care home and a Deprivation Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) was put in place.

DoLS – When caring for someone, it is sometimes necessary to restrict their freedom or independence to keep them safe – for example, a person with dementia may not be allowed to leave a care home, as this would put them in danger. Sometimes, however, DoLS authorisations are not always necessary and we may have to challenge these.

How did we help?

We were appointed as Jack’s Relevant Person’s Representative (RPR) as he had no family who were able to act as the RPR at this time due to their own health issues. When our Advocate visited Jack, he would often say that he didn’t like the home and that they were stopping him from leaving.

Jack would describe his life before his stroke; he enjoyed being outdoors, going to the pub and watching football. Jack told our Advocate that he was so bored he would just spend all day in his bed.

Our Advocate soon became a regular visitor and noticed that Jack was not being cared for as well as he should be. Jack would spend most of the day asleep in bed, he was not getting out into the community and he would not even be urged to get out of bed. He became so ill that he was hospitalised with pneumonia where it was discovered that he had lost over six kilos in just six weeks.

Our Advocate instructed a solicitor to challenge the DoLS; where it was argued that Jack needed a less restrictive option and that he would benefit from access to the community.

What was the outcome?

Jack was allocated six hours per day of one to one funding. As he had also expressed a wish to move care homes, our Advocate supported him in choosing his new accommodation. As a result, Jack moved to the care home of his choice with his new care package.

Jack now gets out of the home and goes on trips to the park, zoo and to watch football. Jack feels more stimulated and his behaviour has changed significantly. He now lives in a place of his choosing and where staff promote diet and nutrition, social interaction and engagement.

Without advocacy, Jack’s brother believes that he would not be here today. Advocacy allowed Jack to have a voice and ensured that his views were listened to and acted on.

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the people we support