About the resources

“If people don’t realise they are the Nearest Relative, then they don’t know their rights.” (Nearest Relative) 

AIMS

Welcome to our resources for Nearest Relatives. 

This website was created for Nearest Relatives, by Nearest Relatives, carers, and professionals with expertise to support Nearest Relatives. It brings together information to help you in your role and offer guidance when you need it. You can find advice, practical tools and useful materials to support you as you navigate the mental health system and the responsibilities that come with being a Nearest Relative. 

Being a Nearest Relative can come with challenges, questions, and responsibilities that are not always easy to understand or manage. This space was created as a trusted, go-to place for Nearest Relatives to find information and practical advice to help you in your role.  

Nearest Relatives are an  important safeguard  for people who are affected by the Mental Health Act. However, if you are a Nearest Relative, you may well struggle with the experience of a gulf between having the legal role and knowing what to do in that role.  

Empowering Nearest Relatives will also have a positive impact on the wellbeing of the people you are supporting in the mental health system. 

We hope you find the resources useful if you are a Nearest Relative.

If you are someone who comes into contact with Nearest Relatives, such as an Approved Mental Health Professional, an advisor, advocate, or a member of staff in a hospital, you can signpost Nearest Relatives to this website and also use it yourself to understand how best to support them. 

HOW THE RESOURCES WERE CREATED

Nearest Relatives, social workers, advisors and researchers have created the information on this website.

Click here to watch Judy talk about the project and how the website was created.

It all started with a research project that interviewed Nearest Relatives. After this, we held an in-person Knowledge Exchange event to find out more about their experiences.  

Generally, Nearest Relatives found the role hard going. They were worried about their relative and felt conflicted about how to support them whilst ensuring they had the treatment they needed. Nearest Relatives said they didn’t have enough information or knowledge to fulfil the role and felt unsupported. Sometimes it felt overwhelming. 

Nearest Relatives – parents, siblings, children or other relatives of patients – told us they needed more recognition, better information and more support.  

We created a policy briefing setting out the main areas for improvement and we aimed to:  

• Make it easier for people to find out who the Nearest Relative is;
• Clarify the role and rights of Nearest Relatives;
• Provide ongoing, clear and timely information;
• Recognise and involve Nearest Relatives in care and support planning;
• Provide resources and services to enable Nearest Relatives to ask questions, obtain legal advice and receive emotional support. 

We then worked together as a group of Nearest Relatives, social workers, advisors and researchers to create resources that “tell you, practically, how to do the role”. We explored the need for a range of materials in different formats and the importance of sharing advice and experience from Nearest Relatives themselves. 

Once we had identified the messages, information and tools that would help, we worked to co-create the content for this website based on what the law says, what we know from research, and people’s experiences of being or working with Nearest Relatives.