Independent domestic violence advocates service
Download (PDF 300.65 KB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Devon was invited by Devon County Council to gather feedback from service users on their experiences of being supported by an Independent Domestic Violence Advocate (IDVA) to inform the review of current commissioning and the provision of future services. The team conducted interviews with 11 service users. The service users were being supported by IDVAs from several different service providers. The interviews focused on how service users were initially contacted for support by an IDVA, what the IDVA did practically, how any transitions between services were managed, and the exit strategy and how the service user felt after support from the IDVA ended.
The overall response from service users about the support provided by IDVAs was varied, however, it was clear from the report that IDVAs provide a valuable service. Service users praised IDVAs for the practical support they received. Every service user interviewed reported that they had had a negative experience when transferring from one IDVA provider to another, and this was the main area of weakness noted in the report. This was primarily related to communication breakdowns between providers when transferring service users.
The report did not make any recommendations and did not include a response from the service providers.