Advocacy services in Surrey

Advice and Information - 22 August 2025

Advocacy services aim to ensure that if you find it difficult - for any reason - to have your voice heard about a decision that affects you, an advocate can support and represent you.
A flowchart showing the different advocacy services available in Surrey (details provided in webpage text).
  • An advocate might support you with:
  • Planning your care requirements
  • Expressing your needs and wishes
  • Making key life changing decisions if you aren’t able make these decisions yourself
  • Making a complaint about a service you have received from the NHS or Social Care.

You will need to give permission for an advocate to be involved.

Some of this support is statutory (i.e. required by law), some is discretionary (i.e. the advocacy provider can make a decision to support or not).

In Surrey, different organisations provide different advocacy services. 

Advocacy services for adults 

SILC - Support to make a complaint about an NHS service

Our Independent Health Complaints Advocacy (IHCA) service is run in partnership with Surrey Independent Living Charity (SILC). It provides free, confidential, independent support if you would like to make a formal complaint about an NHS service.

You can make a complaint about hospitals, GPs, mental health services, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, opticians, 111, walk-in centres, NHS-funded private care and more.

How to make a complaint about your NHS care (Advocacy) – Healthwatch Surrey

POhWER - Instructed advocacy services 

POhWER provides instructed advocacy services. These services are available if you are able to make your own decisions about your needs and wishes but need support to do this.

This support could include:

  • Understanding information
  • Remembering information
  • Being able to tell others your needs and wishes.

You will need to give permission for an advocate to be involved.

Your needs will be assessed based on the following:

  • Mental Health Advocacy (Statutory) - if you are subject to the Mental Health Act 1983.
  • Care Act Advocacy (Statutory) - if you are assessed, or wish to be assessed,  under the Care Act 2014.
  • Discretionary advocacy - if you need support to access NHS services e.g. you are living with a long term physical or mental health condition, facing a mental health crisis or at risk of relapse or receiving substance misuse support. 

Matrix - Non-instructed advocacy services

In Surrey, Matrix provides non-instructed advocacy services. These advocacy services are available if an individual is not able to make decisions about their care or support.

Referrals can only be made by clinical or social care professionals; self-referral is not available.

The individual’s needs can be assessed under the following:

  1. Mental Health Advocacy if the individual is subject to the Mental Health Act 1983
  2. Care Act Advocacy, if the individual is to be assessed  or needs to be assessed, under the Care Act 2014.
  3. Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy when a decision needs to be made about:
  • Serious medical treatment - when the NHS wants to give new treatment, stop treatment that is already being given or when they do not want to start treatment.
  • A change of accommodation - when the NHS or local council wants to move a person to hospital for more than 28 days or to other accommodation for more than 8 weeks
  • Safeguarding from abuse e.g. from a family member

  • Deprivation of Liberty. Anyone who is deprived of their liberty under the Mental Capacity Act must have a representative. This would normally be a family member or a friend but if there is no one suitable it could be an advocate. 

     

Advocacy services for children and young people in care and care leavers

Reconstruct

In Surrey, Reconstruct offers advocacy for children and young people in care and care leavers, to support them to get their voices heard. Please note: Reconstruct does not provide advocacy for the parents of such children.

The Children in Care Advocacy Service provides support and advocacy for children in care aged 0-18 years and care leavers up to age 25 who are placed both in and out of the authority area. This includes the following placement types:

  • Looked after children
  • Care leavers up to the age of 25
  • Children subject to child protection planning to make a representation
  • Children under 16, who have an education health care plan (EHCP), without a parent who is capable of advocating on their behalf
  • Young people aged over 16 who have special education needs or disabilities (SEND) and/or have an education health care plan (EHCP)
  • A child or young person of any age, with an EHCP and English as an additional language
  • Homeless young people who are aged 16 and 17.

Advocates can help children and young people by:

  • Meeting the child or young person before any Child Protection Conferences or Looked After Review Meetings
  • Explaining what happens at these meetings, who will be there and what is likely to happen
  • Helping the child or young person understand and navigate processes, assisting them to better understand why certain processes exist and why others may be worried about them
  • Listening to what they think and how they feel
  • Attending meetings on the child or young person’s behalf, or with them, and ensuring they have their say
  • Helping children and young people understand their rights and giving them the support to say what they want to happen
  • Making any relevant phone calls or writing letters to support children and young people through the process.

Other advocacy provision

Advocacy, at their discretion, and with consent, may be offered by:

These services are not statutory or commissioned by Surrey County Council and are provided on an ad-hoc basis only.

Our Helpdesk

The Healthwatch Surrey Helpdesk is here to provide information and signposting to local people about health and social care services.

It’s also the place to share your experiences of health and social care. Whether it’s good or bad, big or small, we welcome your feedback and act on it to help improve care where you live.

Contact our Helpdesk

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