Finding an advocate when you don't have the right type of disability

PalomaPyjama82

Can anyone advise me on how I might go about finding an advocate who could attend doctors and hospital appointments with me and fight for my rights within the medical system? I have speech disorders which have prevented me from accessing proper medical care my whole life.

I've contacted every official advocacy agency I can find details for online and I don't qualify for help from any of them (I don't have any diagnosed mental health problems and nor am I autistic or have dementia - the things that seem to qualify you for advocacy automaticaly) so I feel I have no choice but to go private. And yet there seems to be no private provision for this type of service anywhere in the UK. It looks like I might have to approach people who are not already in this line of work and ask if they would consider working for me or else putting an advert somewhere, but where would I place it and what kind of individuals might I try approaching? I'm beyond desperate at this point. Has anyone got any suggestions or experience?

noonebelieves

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/131800/finding-an-advocate-when-you-dont-have-the-right-type-of-disability

Sorry to hear @PalomaPyjama82 . Can I ask if PoHWer was one of the advocacy support you tried? I have found them to be supportive and they don’t charge (personal experience)

PalomaPyjama82

I should have said, I'm in Scotland, so it doesn't look like they work in my area sadly :(

noonebelieves

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1005854#Comment_1005854

@PalomaPyjama82 or I should’ve asked where you live 😊. Unfortunately, I have no idea about Scotland but I’m sure someone should be picking up on your post to offer some expert advice. Best wishes