VoiceAbility Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

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VoiceAbility Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is your local service that provides advocacy if you: have a disability; are over 65; have a mental health condition that severely impacts life; or are a carer of an eligible person.

How to contact

Where to go

Unit 1
The Old Granary
Westwick
Oakington
Cambridgeshire
CB24 3AR

Introducing VoiceAbility by James Sheard:

VoiceAbility support people with additional needs to

  • understand their rights and options,
  • make decisions, and
  • be heard when they face a challenge or issue.

What does an advocate do?

Your advocate will:

  • listen to what you think about what’s happening to you
  • help you say what you want and don’t want
  • help you understand information about your situation
  • explain your options
  • plan with you about what to do next

Your advocate will not:

  • offer counselling or befriending
  • offer legal advice
  • make decisions for you
  • tell you what to do

Types of support an advocate might help with include if you are detained (‘sectioned’), in hospital, or in prison; support at care assessments; challenging a decision; and complaining about NHS care. See their website for more information.

If at any point you need support that your advocate cannot offer, they can help you find out if there is someone who can.

This support is for people living in and registered at a GP in Cambridgeshire or Peterborough, who are over 18 (or aged 16-18 and severely or profoundly deaf), and who are using adult care services or mental health services. They can also support carers of someone using these services. If someone is not eligible for statutory advocacy, they may be able to access general advocacy.

For professionals: there’s a nice overview of who, when and why to refer a client for advocacy, and a page with more detailed information plus a link to the referal process.

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Advocacy is free, independent support to involve you in decisions about your health, care and wellbeing.

An advocate is an independent professional who is on your side. They can support you to have your say and know your rights.

Advocates don’t work for the council, the NHS, or care providers. When you work with an advocate, they will keep things confidential.

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