THE DIRECTOR at Conwy and Denbighshire Mental Health Advocacy Service (CADMHAS) is working to highlight a survey that finds widespread human rights breaches of vulnerable people.

Elfed Williams has welcomed the survey published this week by the National Development Team for Inclusion which highlights the human rights breaches that people across Wales, including those living in care homes, have seen.

The survey of 72 professional advocates based in Wales finds in many instances that peoples human rights have been breached and some of their access to advocacy, health and social care suspended during the pandemic

The report - Valuing Voices in Wales: Protecting Rights Through the Pandemic and Beyond - has been jointly produced by advocacy services across Wales and was published to mark the start of Advocacy Awareness Week, following a survey that was undertaken in June during the first UK lockdown.

Mr Williams said: “The findings in this sector-wide report make for shocking reading and show the stark reality of worsening inequalities for some of the most vulnerable members of our communities across Wales.

"Advocates and their organisations have worked together to provide evidence about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the people we support."

Findings show that people’s needs are "not being met or even assessed despite legal obligations on local authorities being unchanged".

A total of 85 per cent of advocates felt the human rights of the people they supported were not being fully upheld and "there was a failure to implement the Mental Capacity Act".

The findings state that a third of the surveyed advocates had experienced Do Not Attempt Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation orders (DNACPRs) being placed on the people they support "without any regard to the person’s feelings, wishes, values or beliefs, and without formal capacity assessments or consultation with family."

More than 40 per cent of advocates said care providers had stopped all visitors and almost a third reported that people were being confined to their rooms denying access to outdoor space or gardens without any clear justification.

The report states: "People are at greater risk of abuse, self-harm, and suicide because of the impact of the restrictions and the removal of essential services and the absence of independent safeguards in the settings where people live.

"Advocacy organisations have come together to ensure people’s access to advocacy. However a lack of care planning, discharge planning, and support were highlighted with over a quarter of advocates (28 per cent) having experienced a care provider seeking to prevent access to advocates despite rights to advocacy remaining unchanged.

"People with the greatest needs are hardest hit by changes made in response to coronavirus. People who do not communicate verbally or who have cognitive impairments are being increasingly left out by the shift to digital communication. While some people find digital communication can be as effective as meeting in person, for most people it is not comparable.

"It means that they are not getting the support they need and this risks further entrenching health inequalities."

The survey findings "demand" a rethink in terms of approach to health and social care.

The reports adds: "As we face a second wave of the pandemic, lessons must be learned to avoid a continuation and repetition of some of the worst impact. We must improve our public health

strategy in response to second or third waves.

"In the medium- and long term, we must develop, embed, and properly resource programmes that address health and social care inequalities.

"It must be an urgent priority to reinforce the rights and improve the support of people who rely on social care. Addressing the health and social care funding gap is necessary but not sufficient in and of itself.

"There needs to be a new political and public consensus so that we are all supported to live full lives in our communities.

"We have an opportunity to overhaul our health and social care systems so that there is an inclusive vision to support people beyond the coronavirus pandemic."

Mr Williams added: "As the second wave of the pandemic sweeps across the UK, I support the report’s calls for an urgent priority to reinforce the rights and improve the support of people who rely on social care.

"There needs to be a consensus between the Welsh Government and all political parties in the Welsh Senedd so that we are all supported to live full lives in our communities and that peoples rights are protected even in these difficult times”

To view the full report, click here.