Advocacy and Legal Referrals available! The Autonomy Hotline

Resisting Coercion in Health and Social Care

My Medical Choice is now referring members to The Autonomy Hotline to take advantage of the low-priced legal and advocacy services that complement and support our own healthcare and bodily autonomy protection services.

Advocacy support in medical consultations

The Autonomy Hotline

They have built a low-cost legal advice and practical support system for patients and parents across the UK who find themselves in a disagreement with a health or social care professional and need a point of contact for support and advice.

In the realm of health and social care, individuals often find themselves navigating complex systems and decisions. The Autonomy Hotline is an initiative that aims to empower patients and parents across the UK, providing support and advice when disagreements with healthcare professionals arise.

Understanding Coercion in Healthcare

What is Coercion?

Coercion in healthcare refers to situations where patients may feel pressured or forced into making medical decisions that may not align with their personal beliefs or preferences.

The Autonomy Hotline: A Beacon of Support

 Mission and Vision

The Autonomy Hotline seeks to offer low-cost legal advice and practical support for individuals facing disagreements with health or social care professionals. The hotline is manned by volunteers experienced in advocacy, patient care, family law, and counselling.

Areas of Support

• Mandatory Treatment: The hotline provides guidance for those facing coercive pressure related to medical treatments.
• Maternity Care: Support is available for those wishing to decline certain treatments or tests during maternity care.
• Family Law and Social Care: Assistance is provided for those dealing with social workers or court proceedings.
• Teens and Children: The hotline also addresses the rights of young people in social care situations.

The Importance of Autonomy in Healthcare

Respecting Choices

Respecting an individual’s autonomy means acknowledging their right to make informed decisions about their health and well-being.

Challenges and Solutions

While challenges exist, initiatives like The Autonomy Hotline play a crucial role in ensuring that individuals have the support and information they need to make empowered decisions.

Resisting coercion in health and social care is about ensuring that individuals have the autonomy to make decisions that align with their values and needs. By providing support, advice, and advocacy, The Autonomy Hotline contributes to fostering an environment where patient rights are respected and upheld.

Autonomy is The Right to Self-Directing Freedom and Moral Independence

The Autonomy Hotline have supported patients and parents with concerns about care facilities, social services referrals, family court, and hospital treatment, and their hotline is manned by a team of volunteers who have some experience in advocacy, patient care, family law or counselling.

As with My Medical Choice, The Autonomy Hotline believes that good patient care involves challenging professional systems, protecting human rights, family unity, and individual autonomy.

My Medical Choice refers our members to The Autonomy Hotline should they need an advocate for medical appointments, or legal services if something goes wrong.

As our membership base continues to expand, we aim to utilise the subsequent increase in income to facilitate the funding of a national advocacy service. As our membership base is experiencing growth, we intend to allocate the resulting increase in income towards funding a national advocacy service. In turn, this service will extend one-to-one advocacy support to members, both during hospital consultancy appointments and through telephone communication.

But we need our members’ support so, please spread the word about My Medical Choice and help us do this!

My Medical Choice: Your Guardian in Medical Emergencies

Informed Consent Within UK Healthcare System

My Medical Choice is not here to judge your decision, it is about empowering people to control their own healthcare.

My Medical Choice is all about your Medical Autonomy in healthcare and making sure the emergency team treating you follows your specific wishes.

When used correctly, it is a robust system that can notify medical teams about allergies, procedures etc., right down to more personalised decisions such as people concerned about mRNA in blood, and/or, wanting a solution to vaccinated blood (as listed in the examples in some articles).