Family & Carer Advocate brochure - Forensicare

Family & Carer AdvocateThe role of the Family & Carer Advocate,traditionally referred to as a ‘CarerConsultant’, has been created in order toidentify the needs of families and carerswithin Forensicare so our service cancontinue to improve.The Family & Carer Advocate supports, linksand advocates on behalf of family membersand carers of people with a mental illness.She will listen to ideas, issues and problemsthat are important to you.The Family & Carer Advocate is somebodywho has had personal experience as a familycarer and can offer support from a familycarer’s perspective.Families and carers are widely acknowledgedas having a legitimate and appropriate role insupporting a person with a mental illness.Involvement of family and carers in thetreatment and support of a person with amental illness has been found to contributeto reducing the incidence of relapse,improving adherence to treatment andimproving the consumer’s quality of life andsocial adjustment.Hello,My name is Liz Ward. I’ve been appointed as theFamily & Carer Advocate for Forensicare, and Ibegan working at Thomas Embling Hospital inJanuary 2011.Part of my role is to provide confidential supportand advocacy for families and carers withinForensicare. We can talk privately on the phone,or face to face. What we say is private.I have been a family carer of a son with a seriousmental illness for 20 years, and have previouslyworked in mental health services supporting andadvocating for families.You can ask your relative’s social worker or casemanager to make a referral to me. Or you can giveme a ring or email me (details are on the reverse).You may like to ask Reception to give me a callwhen you are visiting (notat weekends though), andI’ll come and meet you ifI’m at work.March 2012Become InvolvedIf you are a carer or family member of acurrent Forensicare patient, you are invited tojoin our Family Sensitive Practice Committee.This committee is dedicated to thedevelopment and continual improvement of aculture within our service which is sensitive tothe needs of families.Your experience and ideas are valuable. Yourinvolvement with the committee willcontribute to improving the quality ofForensicare service responsiveness to theneeds of families and carers.The Family Sensitive Practice Committeemeets at Thomas Embling Hospital on thesecond Tuesday of the month between 11 and12. Family and Carer members of thecommittee are paid a sitting fee of $25 plus$10 travelling money. This is to acknowledgethe expertise and commitment which familiesand carers bring to the committee.For more information, please phone Liz Wardon 03 9495 9164; 0428 465 053.