Project Co-ordinator: Kevin Chan pc-hkwsimca@together-uk.org
Operations & Development Manager: Mark Gilroy
Our partners in running this service: Halton Borough Council, Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council, St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council & Warrington Borough Council.
Referrals accepted from: Anyone can make a referral but only NHS or LA employees have legal authority to “instruct” an IMCA. Once a referral is received, the IMCA service will make sure the “instruction” is valid and the referral is appropriate ie. it meets the statutory criteria for IMCA.
To make a referral, please use the 
HKWS referral form
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
About the service
Who is the service for?
Independent Mental Capacity Advocates (IMCAs) work with people who – for reasons such as learning disability, dementia, mental health problems or brain injury – are assessed as lacking mental capacity for the following specific decisions (only these four decisions are within IMCA remit):
- Proposed, withheld or withdrawn serious medical treatment
- A move or accommodation change that is for more than 28 days in hospital or eight weeks in a community setting.
- Care Reviews
- Adult Safeguarding – ie, POVA.
The serious medical treatment referrals and accommodation change decisions are mandatory referrals: ie, there is a statutory duty to involve an IMCA, if the eligibility criteria are met. The Care Review and Adult Safeguarding referrals are discretionary.
Eligibility criteria
The Mental Capacity Act (2005) sets out a criteria for who is eligible to have an IMCA. There are two criteria:
1. The person must be assessed (using the “two-stage” test of capacity outlined in the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice) as lacking capacity to make the specific decision which IMCA is referred for. That is, they:
- lack capacity to consent to or withhold consent for a serious medical treatment
- lack capacity to choose a place of residence
- lack capacity to fully participate in a care review
- lack capacity to consent to formal safeguarding measure/s.
2. IMCA can only be involved if there are no appropriate family or friends that can be consulted on the specific decision. ‘Appropriate’ means that the relative / friend is willing and able to be consulted and appear to have the person’s best interests at heart (but note – simply disagreeing with a decision is not evidence that a relative/ friend are not acting in best interests). The one exception to this criteria are Adult Safeguarding referrals, where an IMCA may be instructed regardless of whether the person has appropriate relatives or friends.
More information
To find out more about the Service, please contact them directly or download the resources below:
