Accessing support

Completing the referral form

A referral must first be made to the PSW service by the doctor or dentist in training themselves (via self-referral) or via the doctors Supervisor, Training Programme Director or Head of School.

We ask that the form be completed with as much detail as possible as this will help us with the timely allocation of a Case Manager and for any support for the doctor to be put in place. The referral form will be reviewed in the strictest confidence by a member of the PSW team.

If the referral is made by the Supervisors/TPDs/HoSs, you should discuss the referral with the doctor in training and we would encourage you to fill out the form together. When completing the form, please detail any course of action that you have already taken to try and support the doctor as we would expect this prior to a referral to our service.

For doctors in training who are making self-referrals to our service, it is important to note that we will still contact the educator indicated on your referral form to make them aware of the referral. This is usually the Educational Supervisor but in some cases, it can be the TPD or HoS if that is preferred. 

The referral form can be accessed here: All completed forms must be sent to england.psw.em@nhs.net​  

Acceptance of the referral

On receipt of the referral form, a confirmation email will be sent acknowledging receipt and acceptance of your referral. (In some cases, we may request more information before the referral can be accepted, of if the referral cannot be accepted, usually as it falls outside of the PSW remit, we will endeavour to signpost you to other services that may be helpful). Once a referral is accepted, a PSW Case Manager will be allocated and will get in touch with the doctor in training via email to arrange an initial confidential telephone meeting.

Telephone appointment with the doctor in training and Case Manager to discuss support options

The appointment with the Case Manager is usually done over the phone to avoid unnecessary travel but can be face-to-face if requested or if the Case Manager thinks it would be more beneficial to do so. During this initial meeting, the referral will be discussed, and a support plan agreed which is usually accessed via one of our external providers. The doctor in training is encouraged to access all support offered within a six-month period. The doctor does not have to use all sessions allocated and they can contact their Case Manager at any point to modify the support plan.

Review of the support offered

One month, three month and six month reviews will take place during the course of the doctors time with us. This is usually in the form of an email or phone call to check up on the doctors case and how they are progressing. During these reviews the aim is to assess the effectiveness of the support and if needed changes can be made to the support plan. 

Once all agreed support has been accessed and the doctor feels that they are ready to move on without further support, the case can close.