Changes to NHS Care Identity Service (CIS) and the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS)

All professional e-RS users need to change any links they use to access e-RS to https://ers.nhs.uk, as above. You may be accessing e-RS via a link saved in their browser favourites, a desktop shortcut or via a link from your intranet or other systems – all of these need to be changed. We recommend you consult with your IT colleagues as you will require access to the internet to use the new e-RS URL. IT colleagues may also be able to make changes to your desktop shortcuts centrally, rather than you having to change it yourself.

Some networks within Trusts are restrictive to certain websites. In most cases the following URLs won't be blocked, but in a few exceptions local network managers may need to allow access to these sites. All the below URLs are available via the internet and an HSCN connection is not required.

1. https://ers.nhs.uk
2. https://nhs-ers-eu-west-2-production-attachments-staging.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/
3. https://nhs-ers-eu-west-2-production-attachments-archive.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/
4. https://nhs-ers-eu-west-2-production-attachments.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/

URLs 2, 3 and 4 above have been included for completeness and have previously been communicated out to Trusts to ensure they’re available. They can also be tested here https://ers.nhs.uk/accesscheck and if 3 green ticks are displayed then all 4 URLs have been correctly configured.

In the case of some homeworkers/remote users using a VPN, some VPN solutions only provide an IP allowlist. These are dynamically allocated IPs and as such we can't provide a list of IPs. If a split tunnel VPN is used this traffic can be routed over the internet rather than through the VPN to overcome this.

Whilst GPs and practice staff access e-RS directly from within their GP clinical system (for example, EMIS, TPP, and so on), some GP practice staff may access e-RS using a browser or desktop shortcut to manage their e-RS worklists, for example. Primary care IT teams will need to follow steps above to update these primary care users to use the new e-RS URL. The NHS e-RS team are working with the GP clinical system suppliers to ensure the e-RS application is opened using the correct URL when accessed from within the clinical system.