Review of Inpatient Advocacy for People with Learning Disabilities and Autistic People in Specialist Hospitals

About

NHS England awarded a contract to NDTi for a one-year project to review the provision and quality of statutory and non-statutory advocacy for people with a learning disability and autistic people who are inpatients in mental health, learning disability or autism specialist hospitals.

The project explored advocacy for children, young people and adults in specialist NHS and independent inpatient settings, including the role of families advocating for their relatives.

It involved a system-wide review with pilot advocacy interventions implemented and evaluated within the year.

The review examined how advocacy is commissioned, delivered, monitored, and used by patients, families, hospitals and commissioners, and established best practice guidance to support patients' quality of life, safety, care, involvement in decisions, and least restrictive care.

Learning from the review and pilots informed the development of cross-sector commissioning guidance by the end of March 2022 and conclusions/recommendations for DHSC and the wider system on future advocacy provision, including minimum standards and guidance co-produced with stakeholders.

The contract value was £82,375.