Advocacy Services in Hackney

We asked you to tell us what you thought of adult advocacy services in Hackney. We wanted to know what worked well, what didn't and what we could do to improve things.

You told us that there were a number of areas for improvement. We have taken your feedback on board and will be procuring a new service that better meets the needs of residents who use advocacy services, especially our vulnerable residents. You can see the full report here: Advocacy Services report

Some of the things you told us were:

• Advocacy should be accessible and culturally appropriate.
• Advocacy should challenge (systemic) inequalities and support the borough’s most vulnerable residents.
• Increase the amount of advocates for patients to see as this is too important.

In response to what you told us:

• We have worked hard to ensure that we offer a service that meets the needs of those who require the service and reflective of Hackney’s population. This contract will widen the scope of deliver with training and development both for community organisations and communities to be able to deliver advocacy in a way which is fully accessible and appropriate
• We agree and will ensure effective data capture, identify trends and gaps in delivery and act on them. We will also train communities and develop the offer for underserved residents to ensure we maximise support

• We are looking at training more people from the local communities as advocates to help increase advocate numbers. There will also be opportunities for communities to participate in alternative forms of advocacy.