Information for referrers

Referrals from GPs and other health professionals

When patients have had contact with their GP practice, we encourage direct referrals from GPs or other qualified health professionals. This allows the referrer to share relevant information and ensure we understand:

  • What the patient and GP are looking for
  • What treatments or support have already been tried

We encourage the use of our Referral Form for these referrals. We assume that the patient’s GP records have been reviewed and that all relevant clinical and risk information has been shared (e.g. safeguarding, adoption, firearms licences, suicide risk).

For patients where important medical information is required for safe care (e.g. disordered eating, co-morbid neurological conditions), we do not accept self-referrals or supported self-referrals. In these cases, a GP referral is required to ensure all necessary information is provided.

Self-referrals

Patients can refer themselves by:

We do not accept self-referrals over the phone—please do not advise patients to call or make a referral via this route as it is not possible. 

Supported self-referrals

We also accept supported self-referrals from non-clinical professionals who may not have access to a patient’s health records.

Ensuring we have key risk, safeguarding, and clinical information

Working closely with the ICB, we have agreed to write to GP Practices for all self-referrals and supported self-referrals asking if there is any risk, safeguarding or clinical information that we need to know to offer safe and effective assessment and intervention.