ABSTRACT
Before the therapist thinks about introducing his/her patient self-referral service, he/she should have done the homework, gained the support of his/her critical friends and organisation, and developed his/her plans for the patient self-referral service. The introduction of the service does need to be thoughtfully planned but is more influenced by the local situation. Alternatively, if the therapist knows that he/she is coming into a usually quiet time in terms of referral numbers — major holiday periods, for example — this may prove the ideal opportunity to give staff a little extra time to get to grips with the new procedures. The therapist should be prepared to monitor and review all aspects of the new service over the run-in period at regular intervals.
