What happens when I refer a patient?

volunteer on phone in resource centre


You start the process

  1. Speak with your patient
    Explain peer support and how it might help them.
  2. Confirm their consent
    We cannot call women unless they have agreed to us making contact.
  3. Make the referral
    Complete and submit our referral form.

What we do

  1. We receive your referral
    Counterpart Resource Centre staff receive and acknowledge your referral.
  2. Assign a volunteer
    Staff will arrange for a volunteer to call the woman during our Resource Centre hours. Note that we do not, generally, match women with volunteers who have exactly the same diagnosis or experiences. However, all our volunteers have had their own experience of a cancer diagnosis, so will understand many of the feelings and challenges your patient is facing.
  3. Call your patient
    Our Peer Support Volunteer will call the woman and provide emotional and practical support. They might also let women know about events or services that could be helpful for them. Peer Support Volunteers are supported by Counterpart staff while providing peer support. Volunteers will not provide medical, legal or financial advice.
  4. Follow up
    Together, they may arrange for a follow-up call or the woman may prefer to call us if she would like support in the future.
  5. Let you know the outcome
    If you have ticked the 'Outcome of contact required' box on the referral form, we will contact you to let you know our volunteer has spoken to the woman and provide feedback.

Find out more

Refer my patient

What is peer support?

How could peer support help my patient?

Meet our volunteers

Download our health professionals brochure (PDF)

Download our brochure for women (PDF)