Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA) including Relevant Person’s Paid Representatives (RPPR)

An IMCA is an advocate who has been specially trained to support people who are not able to make certain decisions for themselves and do not have family or friends who are able to speak for them. IMCAs do not make decisions and they are independent of the people who do make the decisions.

An IMCA can support anyone who is over 16 years old and who has been assessed as ‘lacking capacity’. This means they are not able to make or understand a particular decision about their life because the way their mind or brain works has been affected by an illness, an injury, or a disability. They must have been assessed by a doctor or a social worker at the time the particular decision needs to be made. The person might have dementia, learning disabilities, mental health problems, a brain injury or they might have had a stroke. A lack of capacity can be temporary such as when someone has been in an accident and is unconscious.

An IMCA can be instructed (asked to represent a person) 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 or
• 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.

It should also be considered whether it would be helpful for an IMCA to be instructed for two other issues:

• Safeguarding adults from abuse – when the NHS or local council receives a report of abuse and either the person reported to have been abused or reported to be the abuser lacks capacity to understand the plans being made to prevent the abuse. This is the only type of issue where the person can have family or friends to support them and still have IMCA support. 
• Care reviews – when the NHS or local council has arranged accommodation or wants to review arrangements for a person who lacks capacity.

Different councils have different arrangements for these issues so please contact us if you need more information.

Relevant Representative Paid Representative (RRPR) 

Everyone who is deprived of their liberty under the Mental Capacity Act must have a representative. This could be a family member or a friend but if there is no one suitable it could be a Paid Representative also known as a RPPR.

POhWER’s RPPRs are qualified advocates who have specialist knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards legislation.

The paid representative's role is to:

• Visit the person deprived of their liberty regularly
• Help the person to understand their Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisation and how it affects them
• As far as possible, assist the person to exercise their rights if they want to
• Ensure any conditions attached to the authorisation are met, referring any concerns to the supervisory body if required
• If necessary, ask for a review of the authorisation, challenge the authorisation locally or if this is not successful refer the case to the Court of Protection. The court looks at cases about people who lack capacity to make decisions.

Our RPPRs are independent from the care home or hospital and the local authority/supervisory body. The service is free of charge.