Recurring concern
Inadequate formal patient advocacy support for people with complex care needs
- Reports that mention this concern
- 2
- Times this concern has been raised
- 2
- Stated actions linked to this concern
- 3
What this concern includes
Includes failures of formal or designated patient-advocacy arrangements for people with complex care needs, including failure to identify advocacy needs, appoint or provide an advocate, support communication with care providers, filter or explain distressing information, manage complex care correspondence and appointments, and prevent care arrangements from placing an unreasonable advocacy burden on the patient or family.
What is not included
- Excludes ordinary family involvement, family communication or family participation in care decisions where no patient-advocacy support deficiency is identified.
- Excludes statutory advocacy systems, such as an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate or Independent Mental Health Advocate, when the assertion is specifically about that named statutory process.
- Excludes generic communication, appointment, care-coordination or documentation failures unless they directly leave a patient without required advocacy support.
- Excludes disagreements about treatment or care where the patient has access to appropriate advocacy and the advocacy arrangement itself is not deficient.
- Excludes generic family support or informal advocacy where no formal or designated patient-advocacy need or system failure is asserted.
Trends
Reports over time
Reports mentioning this concern, over time
Reports about this concern issued each year.
* 2026 is projected from reports observed to 7 Sep 2026.
Most frequent recipients
Most frequent recipients
Reports about this concern sent to each recipient.
Reports and published responses 2 reports
See individual reports that have raised this concern, and the actions taken in response
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Concerns raised1
Overreliance on family members to advocate for the patient
This report raised 4 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
- Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.2
-
Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
Communicate with service users and families, including families in care planning, to establish a shared understanding of risk management.
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Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
Ensure complex clinical decisions consider multidisciplinary risk information and service-user and family views, with decisions clearly recorded.
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Concerns raised1
Lack of a formal patient advocate system for patients needing support with distressing treatment news and complex care arrangements
This report raised 3 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
- Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.1
-
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
Register the advocacy matter with commissioners.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
-
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
Commissioners, rather than the Trust, are responsible for commissioning advocacy services; access otherwise depends on consent or statutory frameworks.
Actions and positions describe what organisations say in published responses. Implementation is not independently verified.
Data last updated 7 September 2026