You go round to visit your grandmother who has been acting strange recently, hiding her purse and asking you to check her cupboards.
•F – Find out what is wrong and if you can help. Your grandmother has carers who visit her at home three times a day. When you ask her what is wrong, she tells you she thinks the carers are stealing from her.
•R– Reassure that help is available – you tell your grandmother that this can be investigated fully and her concerns will be taken seriously.
•I – Inform and let them know what self-help resources are available – you tell your grandmother that this needs to be reported to either the care provider or social services.
•E – Encourage them to self-advocate – support your grandmother to be her own advocate and report it. If she doesn’t wish to do so, you can do this on her behalf. As your grandmother may be at risk of financial abuse, you may need to break confidentiality and contact social services yourself, even if she doesn’t wish to.
•N – Need professional help? – You report to social services and contact Advocacy Focus to see if she can benefit from an Advocate.
•D – Debrief – your grandmother gets the support she needs. Give yourself a pat on the back!