Policy

A volunteer advocacy service for older people who lack mental capacity is being provided by Age Concern England.  The Mental Capacity Advocacy Project (MCAP) is a three year pilot project that started in October 2006‚ funded by the Department of Health and Age Concern England.

What does ‘lack mental capacity’ mean?  If a person is deemed to ‘lack mental capacity’ it means a person lacks the capacity to make a particular decision for themselves at the time the decision needs to be taken.  Thus‚ mental capacity is time and decision specific.  A person may‚ for example‚ have the capacity for small decisions such as what to eat for breakfast but lack the mental capacity to make complex decisions about finances or deciding where to live. However we must assume that people have mental capacity until proven otherwise.

Pilot sites

The Department of Health has provided funds to test this innovative service in four pilot sites.  The following organisations were selected in 2007 to provide the MCAP as the pilot sites:

• Age Concern Blackpool and District (in partnership with N-Compass) 
• Age Concern Cheshire 
• Age Concern Slough and Berkshire East 
• Age Concern Warwickshire

These pilot sites enable the MCAP to work across three different regions in England‚ with rural and urban communities‚ with Black and Minority Ethnic groups and other ‘harder to reach’ groups.  There is a Project Manager and an Admin Co-ordinator at each pilot site who is responsible for recruiting‚ selecting‚ training and supporting the volunteers for the MCAP.

MCAP resources

Volunteer Advocate guidance If you would like more detailed information on volunteer advocates then please download the guidance pack which details current best practice on volunteers and the law‚ recruitment ideas‚ MCAP core and additional training and MCAP minimum support requirements.

Advocacy delivery pack To find out more about the advocacy delivery please download the advocacy resource pack which provides greater detail on: what the MCAP is and what the MCAP is not‚ MCAP referral criteria‚ MCAP referral checklist and engagement protocol‚ MCAP quiz and case note recording.  The MCAP works in accordance with the guidance produced in the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice.

MCAP resource pack The pilot phase of this project is coming to a close in October 2009. A full MCAP resource pack will be available to stakeholders as the pilot phase ends. The MCAP resource pack will be a collection of the expert resources developed and used by the MCAP pilot sites over the lifetime of the project.

Independent evaluation reports The MCAP is being independently evaluated. If you would like more details about the MCAP evaluation then please download the MCAP Evaluation Framework. The final evaluation report will be available in October 2009 which will report back against aims 1 and 2 of the MCAP (as detailed in the framework).

An interim evaluation report is now available‚ which focuses on the successes to date‚ emerging lessons and challenges remaining for this work. You can download this report by clicking on the link at the top right-hand side of this page.

If you would like to know more about Frameworks for Change then please email frameworks4change@ntlworld.com

Getting involved in the MCAP

• If you are interested in volunteering at one of the MCAP pilot sites or would like to get involved with the MCAP locally in another way then please contact the relevant Project Manager directly.
• The MCAP team will be speaking at‚ running seminars and holding workshops at various conferences and events in 2009. We also plan to hold an end of pilot project event in October 2009. Please get in touch if you would like to attend an event with the MCAP in 2009. 
• If you would like to receive the e-bulletin ‘Friends of MCAP’‚ which is sent out periodically to mark significant steps in the delivery of the project to all interested parties‚ then please email Neil Mapes. 
• The National Advisory Group is a twice yearly meeting that brings together expert representatives from local‚ regional and national organisations‚ if you would like to know more about this group then please email Neil Mapes.

Contact your local Age Concern

Local Age Concerns provide a range of support services which may be of help.  This may include advocacy‚ where they do not provide this service they may well know local advocacy organisations they can put you in contact with.

Please phone the Age Concern Information Line on 0800 00 99 66 who can give you the contact details for your local Age Concern.

Contact the MCAP pilots

Neil Mapes
Mental Capacity Advocacy Project Co-ordinator
Regional Operations and Service Development Division
Age Concern England
neil.mapes@ace.org.uk 
07767 693357

Age Concern Blackpool
Project Manager: Pamela Hill
Tel: 01253 622 812
pamela.hill@ageconcernblackpool.co.uk

Age Concern Cheshire
Project Manager: Alison Kettlewell
Tel: 01606 305 015
Alison.kettlewell@ageconcerncheshire.org.uk

Age Concern Slough and Berkshire East
Project Manager: Sally Blackden
Tel: 01753 497 872
sally.blackden@ageconcernsabe.org.uk

Age Concern Warwickshire
Project Manager: Kate Richmond
Tel: 01926 458 114
kate@counselling.ageconcernwarks.co.uk