This guide aims to support the work of local authority and NHS staff who may need to instruct and work with IMCAs in relation to accommodation decisions and care reviews.

A case study focusing on a patient not being consulted in the decision about being discharged from hospital into a care home. However, after meeting with an IMCA it was decided that he did in fact have the capacity to decide where he wanted to live and was returned home with an appropriate care package. The case study has been drawn together by the Department of Health, the Care Quality Commission, and POhWER, a major provider of advocacy services, and shows how IMCAs can act as a powerful support to people who may lack capacity.