Our advocate was assigned to support Sally with preparation for her Care and Support Review. Sally lived with her niece and the advocate had some difficulty arranging a visit as the niece was the only contact. The advocate finally managed to arrange a meeting and attended with a colleague. As they talked, the advocate became concerned because Sally reported sleeping all the time; she also said that her niece gave her contradictory information or didn’t respond to her questions. With Sally's permission, the advocate followed up with her GP who indicated that the excessive sleeping was not caused by her physical condition. 

The advocate’s instinct was that something wasn't right, and that possibly the niece was overmedicating Sally so that she was ‘less bother’. The advocate discussed her concerns with her manager and the safeguarding team, and a concern was raised with the local authority. The advocate reminded the safeguarding team to refer Sally for advocacy support if a safeguarding enquiry was opened.