Page 33 - Part-A

Information, Advice or Guidance

The first stage of the referral process is informing the client you will need to refer or
signpost them on to another organisation and explaining why you need to do this. For
example, another organisation is better placed to help them, or you have reached the
limit of your skills and experience. You must get the client’s consent for this to happen.

Once you have the client’s consent and they have been informed that a referral is
being made, you need to go ahead and complete the paperwork for the referral. As
mentioned earlier, this is likely to be different for each organisation. You might be able
to complete the paperwork with the client, which will ensure that the client feels part
of the process and, if you need additional information, you can ask the client directly.

The next stage of the process only applies to referrals. Once a referral has been made,
it is important to keep the client up to date with its progress. Organisations that you
refer to may come back with additional questions or queries and you will have to find
the answers to these.

The final stage of the process is to monitor and evaluate the referral to ensure you are
delivering the best possible service. This is something that will be discussed in the
next section.

Key Facts

Referrals are normally made up of the following four key stages:

1. Discussion with the client explaining the need for referral and
obtaining their consent

2. Completion of the paperwork (this can often be done with the
client present)

3. Informing the client of the progress of the referral and answering
any questions

4. Monitoring and evaluating the referral process.

31