Meeting the advocacy needs of people who have been abused by health and social care practitioners

The Prevention of Professional Abuse Network (POPAN) is the first national organization within the UK to address the problem of the abuse of clients a nd patients by health and social care providers. POPAN has a small staff gr oup of eight people and a larger network of advisers, supporters and allies ; its activities include campaigning, training, consultancy, and the provis ion of information. advice and advocacy. Jennie Williams is a clinical psyc hologist and trustee of POPAN, she has supported the development of the org anization since the early 1990s; Jo Nash was the main person involved in th e development and provision of the advocacy service between September 1997 to January 2000. This is the edited version of a taped and transcribed inte r-view that took place in 1999. Jo Nash is uniquely placed to provide infor mation of significance to anyone using or providing health and social care services. Her work as an advocate has given her a very particular insight i nto the challenges faced by those seeking redress for professional abuse, a nd she has first hand experience of providing advocacy to people who are vu lnerable and reluctant to trust anyone offering help. In this interview Jo Nash directs attention to the considerable limitations in current complaint s systems, practices and procedures, and offers comment on the implications for change. Her work with POPAN provides continual reminders of the import ance of prevention, and she identifies a number of ways in which action can be taken to prevent health and social care practitioners abusing their pat ients and clients. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.