Skip over main navigation
  • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
POhWER

Call us on 0300 456 2370(charged at your standard network rate)

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
Call us Easy Read Accessibility Donate
  • Twitter
Menu
  • Home
  • Our Services
    • Our services
    • NHS Complaints Advocacy
    • Independent Mental Health Advocacy
    • Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy
    • Community Advocacy
    • Care Act Advocacy
    • Secure Services Advocacy
    • Cross Regulatory Lay Advocacy Service
    • Help Hub
    • HertsHelp
  • In your area
    • Central and East of England
    • East Midlands
    • London
    • Southern England
    • South West England
    • West Midlands
    • Secure Services
  • Resources
    • What is advocacy
    • Human Rights in everyday life
    • Human Rights VoxPops
    • Research Studies
    • Keeping Yourself Safe Online
    • Podcasts
    • Blogs
    • Sign Language Videos
  • Work with us
    • Current vacancies
  • Get involved
    • Donate
    • Campaign with us
    • Shop and donate
    • Fundraise
    • Events and Challenges
    • Play 4 POhWER
    • Volunteer
    • Leave a gift in your Will
    • Become a Corporate Partner
  • Online Shop
  • About us
    • Our Strategy
    • Who we are
    • Working in partnership
    • Our Impact
    • Reports and accounts
    • Social Value
    • Our Carbon Net Zero Strategy and Plan 2021-2030
    • Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy 2022-2025
    • Our Gender Pay Gap
    • Meet the team
    • News
    • Stories
    • YouTube Channel
  • Contact us
    • Contact us
    • Make a referral
    • Media Office
    • Tell us what you think about our services
    • Complaints about POhWER
    • Promises when you contact us
  • Admin
    • Log in
  • Basket: (0 items)
  1. Our Services
  2. Cross Regulatory Lay Advocacy Service

Cross Regulatory Lay Advocacy Service

Most Health and Social care professionals are regulated. The regulators are there to ensure that the professionals registered with them meet the required standards of care and professionalism for their profession. This is called being fit to practice.

They can investigate your concerns and determine whether someone’s skills, knowledge, education or behaviour fall below the standards needed to deliver safe, effective and kind care. If necessary, they can take steps to keep the public safe and prevent something from going wrong again.

If you have a concern about the care you or someone you know has received or is receiving at the moment, you can ask to speak to a doctor, nurse or manager at the service.

If your concern is about a service provided by an NHS Trust, e.g. hospitals, mental health services, community health services and ambulance services, you can contact their Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS). PALS, which may also be known as Patient Experience or Service Experience services can help you resolve your concerns quickly and without having to make a formal complaint. If you are still unhappy after that, you may want to make an NHS complaint and/or raise your concerns with the relevant regulating body.
If you wish, there is the option to take your complaint to the regulator at the same time as the NHS complaint or you can wait until you have received a response from the local NHS trust or service manager. POhWER can support you with the regulator process and in some areas of the country, with your NHS complaint. Please see our NHS Complaints pages for more information.

POhWER provides a lay advocacy service for the following health and social care regulators:

  • The Nursing and Midwifery Council
  • The General Medical Council
  • Health Care Professionals Council

‘Lay’ means that the advocate is not a member of the professional body or legally trained.


What do I do if I want to raise a concern with a health or social care regulator?

If you want to raise a concern, you must contact the relevant regulator directly. The contact details can be found at the bottom of this page.

Do let them know if you need help to communicate your concern, need information in another format or need them to make an adjustment because of disability or injury.


How do I get support from an advocate?

If you would like to be supported by an advocate, you will need to tell the regulator this. They will decide if you meet the eligibility criteria for an advocate and make a referral to us.


What can and can’t an advocate do?


A lay advocate can:

  • Support people with communication during regulator processes
  • Listen and try to understand your point of view and situation
  • Provide support to fill in forms when necessary
  • Support you to tell other people what you want
  • Introduce you to others who may be able to help in relation to the regulator process
  • Help you to understand what choices you have and what the consequences of these choices might be in relation to the regulator process.


A lay advocate cannot:

  • Provide advice, including legal advice
  • Speak on behalf of people who are able to do so for themselves
  • Make decisions on behalf of people
  • Solve all of someone’s problems for them
  • Mediate, counsel or befriend
  • Carry out care and support work
  • Tell or advise someone what they should do


The Nursing and Midwifery Council

[email protected] 
020 7637 7181
(also have an online form)

The General Medical Council

[email protected] 
0161 923 6602

The Health Care Professionals Council

[email protected] 
020 7840 9814

Published: 26th June, 2022

Updated: 11th January, 2023

Author: Sukhwinder Kaur

Share this page
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Latest

  • Independent Advocate

    Independent Advocate

    Home working with travel around London

  • Secure & Complex Services Advocate (Part-time)

    Secure & Complex Services Advocate (Part-time)

    Home working with travel across Kilbirnie/Motherwell area of Glasgow.

  • Independent Advocate

    Independent Advocate

    Home working with travel around London

  • Independent Advocate

    Independent Advocate

    Home working with travel around London

Related

  • NHS Complaints Advocacy

    NHS Complaints Advocacy

    NHS Complaints Advocacy supports people who are thinking about making a complaint about treatment funded by the NHS

  • Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA)

    Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA)

    Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy supports people who are not able to make certain decisions about their lives for themselves

  • Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA)

    Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA)

    Independent Mental Health Advocacy supports people to understand and exercise their rights under the Mental Health Act

  • Care Act Advocacy

    Care Act Advocacy

    Care Act advocates support people who need support to be involved in decisions their local council is making about their care and support

  • Community Advocacy

    Community Advocacy

    Community Advocacy is for people who need support to deal with an issue they are facing and want help to speak up for themselves or be listened to.

  • Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) / Liberty Protection Safeguards

    Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) / Liberty Protection Safeguards

    Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) protect people from having their freedom taken away unless it is in their best interests

  • Secure and Complex Advocacy Services

    Secure and Complex Advocacy Services

    Secure and Complex Advocacy supports people with a wide range of conditions and disabilities in a range of secure settings

  • Relevant Person's Paid Representative Service (RPPR)

    Relevant Person's Paid Representative Service (RPPR)

    Relevant Person’s Paid Representatives make regular visits to people who are deprived of their liberty under the Mental Capacity Act

  • Rule 1.2 Representative

    Rule 1.2 Representative

    A Rule 1.2 Representative can support someone who is subject to a court authorised Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

  • Citizen, Peer and Group Advocacy

    Citizen, Peer and Group Advocacy

    POhWER’s trained volunteers provide one-to-one peer and citizen advocacy. We also bring people together to support each other through group advocacy

Most read

  • NHS Complaints Advocacy

    NHS Complaints Advocacy

    NHS Complaints Advocacy supports people who are thinking about making a complaint about treatment funded by the NHS

  • Make a referral

    Make a referral

    You can make a referral to POhWER services by completing one of the forms on this page or by calling 0300 456 2370

  • Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA)

    Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA)

    Independent Mental Health Advocacy supports people to understand and exercise their rights under the Mental Health Act

  • Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA)

    Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA)

    Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy supports people who are not able to make certain decisions about their lives for themselves

  • London

    We provide services across London, helping people to get their voices heard. Here you can find our more about the services we provide.

  • Central and East of England

    POhWER provides services across five local authority areas in Central and East of England, helping people to get their voices heard.

  • Feedback

    Feedback

    Tell us what you think about our services. POhWER takes feedback seriously and we use it as part of our commitment to continually improving our services.

  • Community Advocacy

    Community Advocacy

    Community Advocacy is for people who need support to deal with an issue they are facing and want help to speak up for themselves or be listened to.

  • Care Act Advocacy

    Care Act Advocacy

    Care Act advocates support people who need support to be involved in decisions their local council is making about their care and support

  • Southern England

    POhWER provides services across four local authority areas in Southern England, helping people to get their voices heard

Tag cloud

advocacy advocate bedfordshire hertfordshire imca IMHA independent Independent Mental Health Act London MHA NHS Complaints POhWER rights secure services support West Midlands

Latest tweet

Keep in touch

Interested in everything POhWER? Sign up to our mailing list to find out more about POhWER’s great work, latest news, events and campaigns. Just complete your details below and click sign up.

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please enter your email address Please enter a valid email address (e.g. [email protected])
  • Privacy, Data Protection & Your Personal Information
  • Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking
  • Sitemap
  • Accessibility
  • Contact
  • Feedback
  • Standard Purchasing Terms and Conditions
  • Delivery and Returns

Connect with us

Want to get the most up-to-date information and news? Follow us on twitter or subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive the latest updates about what is happening across POhWER.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
Helplines Partnership Member logo Advocacy QPM Award logo  Disability Confident Employer Logo    We are a Living Wage Employer Logo Mindful Employer Logo Investors in People - Silver Award LogoISO 9001 Quality Management Certificate Badge with UKAS AccreditationAdvice Quality Standard (AQS) LogoRegistered with the Fundraising Regulator Logo  Carbon Charter - Bronze LogoCharity Today Awards Winner 2021-2022 logo Ally flag

Copyright © 2016 | POhWER is a registered charity in England & Wales (1061543), Scotland (SC048858).
Registered company limited by guarantee, England & Wales (03323040).
Registered office: Hertlands House, Primett Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 3EE

Manage Cookie Preferences