Being independent...

We talk about independent advocates, but what are they independent from? In fact we talk about being independent in lots of different contexts: sometimes the word actually means different things, but there's often some confusion if you ask someone to actually explain it...

Advocates have a good and simple way of explaining it. I don't think I can add anything to the published explanations - but who knows where they are...? So here goes:

'independent means free from conflicts of interest'

This is a special case of the sort of independent used in 'independent living' which means 'able to make your own choices'. The 'freedom from conflicts of interest' definition is aimed at professionals (paid or unpaid).

A conflict of interest is when one person is asking you to do one thing, but you also feel you should be doing something else. You may feel this conflict because of your own beliefs or morals or professional approach; you may expect your manager or colleague or friend to disapprove; or someone may have specifically given you a contradictory instruction.

What about some examples (based on advocacy practice):

• you start working with a person with learning difficulties, and then their wife or brother or mother get involved too... who is making the decisions here?
  
• your contract says you can only work for 4 hours with each client, but this person clearly (to you) needs more time
• you are asked to support someone to make a complaint against a colleague
• you go into a meeting with your partner, and since you've been an advocate for ten years now all the senior managers know you and greet you like a friend (your partner meanwhile is looking at you as if they're wondering who you really are after all...)
• someone tells you that your partner may have all their problems solved if this great new project happens in about 4 weeks - but it's all hush hush at the moment and you can't say anything to anybody until it's officially announced...
• you and a colleague have been working independently for a long time with two people in the same care home, then they have a fight and each want the other to move out
• most of the funding for your project comes from the local authority, and most of your work is for people in local authority care
• there's been a recent funding crisis and several new committee members have been recruited including a psychiatrist, a GP and a local councillor: they think the project needs to do much more effective recording of its work, but you think this will take away from the time you have to do advocacy (and your personal record is exemplary)

How can you avoid conflicts of interest?

• make sure people understand what they are and when they can occur
• clearly define the boundaries of your work
• have a clear confidentiality policy (anything told to you is liable to be told to your advocacy partner)
• develop working relationships with other local advocacy projects so they can take on work that possibly involves conflicts
• get funding from a range of sources, and have clear clauses in your local authority or PCT contracts to safeguard you from potential conflicts
• let people, especially senior managers, know that you will be rude to them when you're with an advocacy client (or at least seem to ignore them)
• anyway, don't talk much to people who might cause a conflict, including managers, parents or other siblings, care staff, etc. (but be nice and don't cause different sorts of conflicts)