Posted on No Comments on Know your rights, use your rights

Know your rights, use your rights

“How have we gone so long without a resource like this?” (Carer)

The theme for Carers Rights Day 2025 was Know your rights, use your rights.

Appropriately, it was on Carers Rights Day that we launched our Nearest Relatives Resources.

‘Carers deserve better. They deserve respect, they deserve support and they deserve rights that they can rely on and easily exercise. Carers Rights Day reminds us that rights are powerful only if people know they have them and feel able to use them’. (MP, parliamentary debate for Carers Rights Day)

Our resources were co-created with and for Nearest Relatives, by researchers and Approved Mental Health Professionals, led by the University of Bristol and supported by Mind. They came out of research that showed Nearest Relatives struggle to access information about the role and their rights, and to get support for the impact the role has on them.

At the online launch supported by Carers Trust, we heard from Nearest Relatives and Approved Mental Health Professionals about their experiences.

  • Nearest Relatives highlighted the importance of having a trusted place to find out about their rights. There is no preparation for the role and it has a huge impact. This website fills a need for information about how to practically undertake the role and navigate the mental health system. It also enables them to learn from the experiences of others.

‘It can serve the person being cared for so much better if the Nearest Relative can find the information and advice for their role. I hope these resources will do that.’ (Nearest Relative)

  • Approved Mental Health Professionals emphasised how important it is to provide accessible information at the right time to Nearest Relatives, who are often overwhelmed. They may need to gradually get information, access different elements at different times, or share information about their role with others. Practitioners working in the mental health system can ensure Nearest Relatives have access to the website, and can use the leaflets and tools to support their daily work.

‘This resource says ‘these are your rights, this is what you can do’. I will be sharing this resource with all the AMHPs in my service. We will include the website address in all our communication.’ (AMHP)

We discussed ways to use the website including to:

Carers Rights Day emphasises the importance of empowering carers.

‘It is all about making sure that….the millions of unpaid carers who support loved ones through illness and disability, know that they have access to support and rights’. (MP, parliamentary debate for Carers Rights Day)

Three years ago, Nearest Relatives were generous enough to share their experiences in a research project that highlighted the lack of information and support for this role.

Now they have offered valuable insight to co-create resources that can help ensure others don’t struggle or have negative experiences. And that they can exercise the rights that go with their vital role as Nearest Relatives.

We are grateful to them for making this work possible.

“What a fantastic way to celebrate Carers Rights Day!” (Attendee)

Posted on No Comments on Don’t lose hope: Launch of resources for Nearest Relatives

Don’t lose hope: Launch of resources for Nearest Relatives

On World Mental Health Day, we recognise that anyone could experience mental health problems and anyone could be affected by a loved one finding themselves part of the mental health system.

So it’s an appropriate day to invite Nearest Relatives and those who support them to the launch of our new resources.

Join our free webinar on Thursday 20 November from 1-2pm to find out about online resources to support Nearest Relatives.

The co-developed resources:

  • Provide a trusted, go-to place for Nearest Relatives to find information and practical advice
  • Share experiences and insights from other Nearest Relatives
  • Set out what the law says and what the role means
  • Explain your rights as a Nearest Relative
  • Give you an overview of the mental health system and what you can expect as a Nearest Relative
  • Cover the impact of the role, and how you can look after yourself and seek support.

In the webinar you will hear from Nearest Relatives about their experiences and learn how the new resources can help people feel informed and supported.

If someone is admitted to hospital under the Mental Health Act for psychiatric care and treatment, their Nearest Relative becomes a crucial part of what happens next. Nearest Relatives need and deserve information, guidance and help. However, often they struggle to make sense of how things work.

Nearest Relatives, social workers and researchers have been working together to develop resources to meet this need. One of our Nearest Relatives sums up why this matters:

We are partners in care, not obstacles. We know our loved one better than anyone.

On World Mental Health Day we want to share this advice from a Nearest Relative:

Don’t lose hope because you don’t know what’s round the corner.

We trust that our resources will help guide Nearest Relatives through the difficult times to a place of hope.

Sign up for the webinar here

Download the flyer here

Find out more about the resources here

Posted on No Comments on “You are not alone.”

“You are not alone.”

This is the message from people with lived experience who are involved in co-creating our resources for Nearest Relatives.

We aim to have a set of resources for Nearest Relatives ready by the end of the year so our website can become a trusted, go-to place for Nearest Relatives to find information and practical advice to help them in their role.  

If you are a Nearest Relative, the website will help you:

  • Know your rights and have practical guidance to exercise them;
  • Know what to do in different situations; and
  • Learn from experiences of other Nearest Relatives about how to undertake the role.

By empowering yourself, you can empower your relative when they are treated under the Mental Health Act.

One Nearest Relative involved in the project has already shared her most important advice in a video recording:

You have legal rights – under the Mental Health Act – and you need to know them.

Trust your gut – you know your loved one better than anyone.

Connect with others, get informed, and never underestimate the power of your voice.

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

Nearest Relatives told us what they needed to know about and we have designed the website and created the resources with this in mind. The website will cover:

  • What is a Nearest Relative? – What the law says and what the role means. 
  • What are my rights? – Your rights and what you can do as a Nearest Relative. 
  • How does it work? – An overview of the mental health system and what you can expect as a Nearest Relative at different stages, from your relative’s admission, treatment and discharge from hospital, as well as any ongoing community treatment.  
  • How can I get help? – The impact of the role, and how to look after yourself and seek support. 

We are recording short films that share people’s experiences and give insight into what is important for Nearest Relatives.  

And we are developing practical tools to help you in your role, for example on how to engage with staff, make a complaint , manage confidentiality or look after yourself.

There is some good information out there, which we will signpost to. However, we want to ensure that there is one place that Nearest Relatives can go to in order to get the essential information and reassurance they need.

This resource will help Nearest Relatives to use their voice and to know they are not alone.

To find out more about the project, explpre our website. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.

To sign up to updates about the project and the launch of the resources, contact us.

Posted on No Comments on “No-one is prepared for this” Lighting the way for Nearest Relatives

“No-one is prepared for this” Lighting the way for Nearest Relatives

“There was a gap between the statement of rights and responsibilities that was available to me as a Nearest Relative, and what I needed to know to act effectively.” (Nearest Relative)

If my partner was detained in hospital by the state in England or Wales because of a mental health crisis, I could legally be their Nearest Relative under the Mental Health Act. My Dad  could be Nearest Relative for my Mum. My brother for his 18-year old son. My Mum for my Aunt.

None of us has had training or education about this. It would happen instantly, giving us a legal role and rights that make a huge difference to the person who is unwell.

I am part of a team working with Nearest Relatives, social workers, advisors and Mind to make this experience less scary and to enable Nearest Relatives to feel less in the dark about what to do.

The experience of a gulf between having the legal role and knowing what to do in that role is common to Nearest Relatives. As well as the complexity of law, people are in a highly emotional situation. Although information is given, it is a difficult time to take things in and there is limited support.

The University of Bristol’s research and follow up work with Nearest Relatives has identified the messages, information and tools that would help shine a light in this situation. We are now working on a web resource that will become a trusted go-to place for Nearest Relatives. It will cover:

·       What the law says;

·       Why being a Nearest Relative is different from other roles, such as carer or next of kin;

·       How the mental health system works and who’s who;

·       The impact of the role, and how to look after yourself and seek support.

There will be practical tools including information sheets for Nearest Relatives and for staff working in hospitals, guidance on confidentiality and information sharing, a template for complaints, and advice from other Nearest Relatives on managing the impact of the role.

There will be short films to share experience and provide insight. And there will be signposting to helpful resources about the Mental Health Act.

These resources will be developed over the coming months with an aim to having the site up and running in late 2025. It can then be adapted and evolve as the Mental Health Act is updated.

Nearest Relatives and those who support them have said currently ‘the information is not good enough.’ We are determined to change this so that becoming a Nearest Relative is no longer a leap in the dark but instead is an illuminated path.

To find out more about the project, visit our website or contact us.