John is a 49 year old man who has physical disabilities sustained in a traffic accident. John's injuries have had a severe impact on his daily living, but with carer support he is able to work and have shared custody of his 7 year old son, Connor. John contacted POhWER to request support from a Care Act Advocate at an upcoming review of his care and support needs. John had not had a review for a couple of years and his current care and support plan no longer reflected the levels of support he needed. John wanted support at the review because he was anxious that he would struggle to put his needs across and his views would not be properly heard.

Jenny, a POhWER Care Act Advocate, contacted John and they met via Zoom as this worked best for him. They discussed the issues he was facing and what changes he would like made to his care and support plan. John told Jenny that he has support from really good caregivers who he employs via Direct Payments. He told her that he needs full assistance with all areas of daily living and accessing work effectively and they provide this to him. He then explained that he did not have separate care identified to enable him to care for Connor safely when he comes to stay and this needed to be reviewed. Connor stays with John every other week and longer in the school summer holidays. John loves spending time with his son and wanted to ensure he had the right support in place long-term to care for his son well.

Jenny and John discussed the things that are important to John and Connor and how these things could be best supported with care support. Jenny also supported John to put together a breakdown of his current care support and where he feels more support is required. They sent a copy of this to his social worker.

Jenny also discussed with John how he would like the review to be conducted - either remotely or face-to-face. After some consideration he agreed to a face-to-face meeting at his home. John felt let down by social services and was anxious about the review but said he felt reassured that Jenny would be there to support him.

At the review, although very nervous, John was able to explain his situation well. Jenny supported him by taking notes and adding in points that she and John had discussed that he may have forgotten.

At the end of the meeting, the social worker asked John to send an up-to-date breakdown of the areas of care support which were missing from his plan, particularly factoring in the increased time he now spends caring for his son and including contingencies such as extra support during school holidays, inset days, or when his son is unwell. Jenny was able to provide John with an email overview of this, using information he had provided to the social worker during the review.

John's social worker put together a revised care and support plan which was agreed by the panel. John feels it is reflective of his current needs and will enable him to manage his life as independently as possible while giving him the control and flexibility to look after his son who is such an important part of his life.

John thanked Jenny for her support with preparing for the review and attending it with him. He told her that having her support during the care review process helped him to feel less anxious and more confident to put his views and feelings across. He also said he felt it enabled him to feel properly listened to.