Overview

POhWER is a charity and membership organisation. They provide information, advice, support and advocacy to people who experience disability, vulnerability, distress and social exclusion.  POhWER delivers information, advice, support and advocacy services throughout England. They aim to support people who face difficult issues and want to make their voice heard.
They regularly work with:

• People who feel they have been let down by the NHS and want to make a complaint
• Older people
• People with mental health issues
• People with sensory impairment
• People with physical disabilities
• People with learning disabilities
• Children and young people
• People with autism
• People who have experienced discrimination or exclusion.

All POhWER’s services are free, independent and confidential.  An advocate will listen to you, help you talk to people and ask them questions, go to meetings with you, help you understand information given to you, and your rights, make telephone calls for you and write letters with you.  An advocate will not tell you what to do, talk to people you don’t want them to talk to or keep information from you.
POhWER also operate an advocate service to those in prison, however the advocates do not undertake prison visits.
POhWER offer the following services in Lambeth:

• Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA), including Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). This is a statutory advocacy service to support vulnerable people who lack capacity and need to make important decisions but have no representatives as defined under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• Relevant Person’s Paid Representative (RPPR), is a service for those people (or Relevant Person) whom have been legally deprived of their liberty under the safeguards (DoLS) set out in Mental Capacity Act 2005, and have no family or friend whom can appropriately act as their representative. The role of the RPPR is to assist the Relevant Person to understand and execute their rights which includes calling a review of the DoL, or challenging the DoL or elements of it by accessing the Court of Protection, or by exercising them of behalf of the Relevant Person.
• Independent Health Complaints Advocacy for people who wish to make a complaint about treatment provided under the NHS. For more information about how their Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service can help you please see  London Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service page.

They offer the following services in Southwark:

• Independent Health Complaints Advocacy for people who wish to make a complaint about treatment provided under the NHS. For more information about how their Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service can help you please see London Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service page.