Relationship Between The Independent Mental Health Advocacy

With the establishment of the Mental Capacity Act comes the Independent Mental Health Advocacy which was introduced in 2007 under the amendments of the Mental Health Act 1983.
An Independent Mental Health Advocate is a specialist advocate with legal rights to the IMHA which is not available to all advocates. What this means exactly is that an Independent Mental Health Advocate may meet with qualifying patients in private; consult with who are professionals concerned with the patient's care and treatment; see any records relating to the patient's detention, treatment or after-care, for the purpose of providing help to the patient and where the patient consents and may request access to records where the patient lacks the capacity to consent,
As discussed in great detail above, the MCA is an Act set in place to protect and empower those who possibly lack the mental capacity to make direct decisions regarding their personal care and treatment, while the IMHA is made up of advocates who work directly with the patients to assist in making these decisions.
This means that an Independent Mental Health Advocate must be well versed in the details of the MCA in order to assist patients. They must ensure that all caretakers and medical professionals with who they work are also clued up about the MCA.
The MCA and the IMHA work together to ensure that individuals have the ability to express and assist in the decision-making process in regard to their care. While this person might be considered to lack the capacity to do so, the MCA provides the individual with the right to do so. This is where the IMHA steps in, as along with having the ability to express themselves, the individual has the facility to appoint a trusted person (i.e. an Independent Mental Health Advocate) to not only assist in the decision process but also to represent them and speak on their behalf if
What is most important is ensuring that throughout the entire process, all decisions that are made whether assisted by the patient or solely made by a representative are made with the best interest of the patient in mind. The Mental Capacity Act and the Independent Health Act will not be considered in high regard if the decisions made are restrictive to the patient’s human rights and freedoms.
If or when a patient is found to lack the capacity to make a decision, which has been determined by a capacity assessment, the MCA clearly states that any decisions made must be in their best interest. This is once again where the IMHA steps in.
The Mental Capacity Act sets out a checklist of factors to consider when deciding what is in the best interest of the individual. This checklist comprises of the following steps that need to be taken:
Participation is to be encouraged – ensuring that all possible measures are taken to permit or encourage the individual to take part in the decision-making process.
All relevant circumstances are to be identified – the IMHA must identify all the factors that would be taken into account by the individual if they were making the decision