Independent Mental Health Advocates (IMHAs) and statutory advocacy providers are commissioned and funded by NHS Trusts or Local Authorities — the very bodies whose actions they are meant to scrutinise. This creates a troubling conflict of interest: when safeguarding concerns arise, charities risk losing funding if they challenge too hard. As a result, patients in psychiatric care can fall through a loophole where no one is truly safeguarding them. Should we not be questioning whether the Mental Health Act itself needs reform, so that advocacy is genuinely independent and safeguarding cannot be side-stepped by funding arrangements? If a system designed to protect the most vulnerable cannot guarantee their safety, what does that say about our wider approach to mental health care?
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