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Layout change to NHS e-Referral Service screens

To improve user experience, plans are underway to modernise the existing NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS) screens.

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Layout changes are being made to many e-RS screens to improve the experience of our users. The format of the screens will look different but no new functionality is being introduced.

These changes are being made incrementally.

Expand the sections below to find out more about what has been delivered.

Update: Information on issues following the latest e-RS release.

FInd out more information on issues raised by referring users since the system update on 9 May 2025.


Delivered

June 2025 – workgroups – service definer users

The service definer Workgroup tab has been updated to make the screens more modern and accessible.

Previous screen:

service definer workgroups tab layout prior to the screen changes

New screen:

service definer workgroups tab layout after the screen changes

Each of the tiles displayed are covered below.

All workgroups

Selecting ‘All workgroups’ will list the workgroups associated with the organisation which the user is logged into e-RS as. Note that the ODS code is no longer displayed before the workgroup name.

service definer all workgroups screen

Selecting a workgroup will open a screen where the workgroup can be managed. The workgroup name can be amended, users added/removed or the workgroup deleted.

service definer manage this workgroup screen

The actions which can be performed from this screen are detailed below.

  1. After renaming a workgroup name and/or selecting to add/remove users, selecting ‘Save’ from the ‘Manage this workgroup’ screen, will display the ‘All workgroups’ screen confirming the changes have been saved.

service definer all workgroups screen showing workgroup update confirmation message

2.  When deleting a workgroup the following warning message appears.

service definer workgroup deletion warning message

Selecting ‘Delete’ returns to the ‘All workgroups’ screen confirming the changes.

service definer all workgroups screen showing workgroup deleted confirmation message

3.  When adding a user to a workgroup, select ‘Add user’. This provides a screen where user's Last name field and selecting a Role needs to be completed as a minimum, to enable the ‘Search’ button.

The search results will be shown under the criteria with an ‘Add’ option to add the user to the workgroup.

service definer add users to workgroup screen with users details

Once the user has been added to the workgroup this will appear in the ‘New workgroup users’ section below the search results.

service definer add users to workgroup screen with users added

Selecting ‘Confirm’ will display the ‘All workgroups’ screen confirming the changes.

service definer all workgroups screen showing workgroup update confirmation message

Search by user

Selecting the search by user tile will present the ‘Search for a user’ screen. The users Last name field and selecting a Role needs to be completed as a minimum, to enable the ‘Search’ button.

The search results will be shown under the criteria.  

service definer search for a user screen showing user

Selecting the user name will open a screen displaying the workgroups the user is associated with.

service definer list of workgroups associated to the user

Selecting a workgroup will display the ‘Manage this workgroup’ screen. Review the information above regarding performing actions on this screen.

service definer manage this workgroup screen

Once the ‘Save’ button is selected the user screen will appear to allow further actions to be undertaken on other workgroups if necessary.

Add new workgroup

Selecting the ’Add new workgroup’ tile opens a screen where the new workgroup name can be added and saved.

service definer add new workgroup screen

Users can also be added from this screen. Refer to the ‘Adding a user to a workgroup’ section above.

June 2025 – Organisation Details tab renamed and changes – service definer users

The previous ‘Organisation Details’ tab has been renamed to ‘Additional requirements’ and the option on the to add ‘Aliases’ has been removed, due to minimal usage.

Previous screen:

service definer organisation details tab layout prior to the screen changes

New screen:

service definer additional requirements tab

Selecting a location displays the ‘Set additional requirements’ screen, where requirements can be set.

service definer set additional requirements tab

May 2025 - diary view when booking an appointment – referring and BMS admin users

Users with referring roles or BMS admin roles can view appointments in a diary view when they are reviewing the service options to book or rebook an appointment request. When selecting ‘Find more appointments’, for a directly bookable service with available appointment slots that has been selected for a referral shortlist, will navigate to the diary view.

review service options screen

The ‘Find more appointments’ option will only display when there are more appointments to show.

Selecting this option will display a calendar view for appointments within the service.

calendar view when rebooking an appointment

 

The selected service details are displayed at the top of the screen.

Where an appointment is being rebooked the current appointment information will be shown.

The initial month displayed will be the month for the first available appointment, with an option to move to the next month. The option to move to a previous month will show where the month is not in the past.

A 'Today' label is displayed on the current date of the calendar.

Where appointment slots are available these dates will be shaded on the calendar in white. Where appointment slots are not available, or the date is in the past these dates will be shaded in a grey.

 

Select a new appointment date and time

Once an available day has been selected the date is shaded blue and a table is displayed below the calendar with a sub header of the day. This table shows the appointment time in ascending order and the ‘Select’ option next to each appointment. Once the ‘Select’ option is chosen the screen will return to the ‘Review service options’ screen.

To return to the ‘Review service options’ screen without choosing an appointment use the ‘Go back to Review service option’ link at the top left of the screen.

If a date is selected on the calendar where no appointments are available or the date is in the past a message will be shown below the calendar detailing this.

calendar view when date selected where no appointment are available

 

Calendar it is not possible to book a visit in the past

After the system has been updated, drop-in sessions will take place week commencing 12 May 2025 for users to ask questions regarding the changes to the layout of the referrer screens. Details on how to attend a session can be found on an e-RS notification issued on 29 April.

Please note, we will not be demonstrating any details of the changes on this webinar, so please ensure you have reviewed the above information and watched the overview video prior to attending one of these sessions.

May 2025 - Worklists – referring users

The high level changes are described below. These screens and further information is also covered in the supporting video (duration 4 mins).

The worklist dashboard has been updated and some information moved to different areas of the screen.

new worklist landing screen

The new layout includes:

  1. The worklist cards next to or below each other depending on the screen resolution.
  2. Each card shows the number of referrals or requests on each worklist.
  3. The ‘New’ label is being replaced with an ‘Unread’ label.  This will still indicate how many referrals or advice requests that remain unread or unopened by your organisation.

Some of the worklists are being renamed:

Current worklist wording

Worklist wording after the update

Rejected triage response

Triage responses/Rejected referrals

Letter outstanding Missing referral letters
Incomplete Incomplete UBRNs
Advice and Guidance Active advice requests
Assessment return/cancelled/DNA Assessment results/cancelled referrals/did not attends
Awaiting booking Referrals pending external action

When a specific worklist is selected, the worklist name is displayed at the top, with the total number of UBRNs shown in brackets next to the name. Below the name is the number of unread UBRNs which corresponds with the UBRNs highlighted with a red dot/UBRN highlighted in the worklist.

new triage worklist

Drop-in sessions will take place week commencing 12 May 2025 for users to ask questions regarding the changes to the layout of the referrer screens. Details on how to attend a session can be found on an e-RS notification issued on 29 April.

Please note, we will not be demonstrating any details of the changes on this webinar, so please ensure you have reviewed the above information and watched the overview video prior to attending one of these sessions.

May 2025 - Searching for services – referring users

The high level changes are described below. These screens and further information is also covered in the supporting video (duration 5 mins).

The service search screen has been updated.

service search screen after the update

Key changes:

  1. Users will be required to select the request type.
  2. The option to search by clinical term is being removed.

When selecting the ‘Search’ button any mandatory information not entered, will be highlighted in an error message, indicating the information needed to proceed.

If the search criteria needs to be refined further, the 'Add more search details' section can be expanded:

service search screen with add more search details expanded

Drop-in sessions will take place week commencing 12 May 2025 for users to ask questions regarding the changes to the layout of the referrer screens. Details on how to attend a session can be found on an e-RS notification issued on 29 April.

Please note, we will not be demonstrating any details of the changes on this webinar, so please ensure you have reviewed the above information and watched the overview video prior to attending one of these sessions.

May 2025 - Shortlisting services – referring users

The high level changes are described below. These screens and further information is also covered in the supporting video (duration 5 mins).

The current ‘Book/Send for Triage screen’ showing selected shortlisted services has been updated with a new ‘Referral service search results’ screen.

new referral service search screen

Key changes:

  1. All action buttons, currently at the bottom of the screen have moved to a new green ‘Select action’ button.
  2. All services can be chosen using the check boxes meaning there will no longer be a ‘Send for Triage’ button against individual triage services.
  3. The current ‘Miles’ column header now shows as ‘Distance’.
  4. To improve the layout of important information, the appointment type, Service name and Location has been merged into the ‘Service’ column.
  5. ‘Referrer alert’ has been renamed to ‘Notes for referrer’ and the information displayed in the column rather than a hover over.
  6. The option to organise the results by organisation has been removed due to minimal usage. Please use the ‘Add more search details’ section under the previous ‘Search for a Service’ screen if you need to search for services under a specific organisation or location.  
  7. Once the appropriate services have been selected the ‘Select action’ button will offer the options to ‘Shortlist only’ (which is currently the ‘Request’ button) or ‘Book/send for triage’.

new review shortlisted service options with referral letter

A confirmation screen is shown once submitted. This screen will vary depending on whether the patient has a fully verified NHS Login account.

successfully created the referral screen all links

Drop-in sessions will take place week commencing 12 May 2025 for users to ask questions regarding the changes to the layout of the referrer screens. Details on how to attend a session can be found on an e-RS notification issued on 29 April.

Please note, we will not be demonstrating any details of the changes on this webinar, so please ensure you have reviewed the above information and watched the overview video prior to attending one of these sessions.  

May 2025 – Booking, triaging, deferring and rebooking referrals – referring and BMS admin users

The high level changes are described below. These screens and further information is also covered in the supporting video (duration 10 mins).

Booking

The current ‘Book/send for triage screen’ has been replaced with a new ‘review service options’ screen.

new review service options screen

Key features:

  1. Each selected service will appear in a card format showing information about each individual service. Selecting the service name provides more information about the service.
  2. In the service details section more information on average treatment wait and CQC rating will be displayed where available.
  3. For directly bookable services a ‘Book an appointment’ section will display the first six available slots.
  4. The option to view multiple services appointment slots in diary view is no longer available.
  5. When booking, rebooking, triaging and deferring, review check screens display:
    • a prominent yellow banner explaining the state of the referral
    • information about the appointment or service type (for example, triage)
    • referred to service information
    • an action button

Below is an example of a referral being booked into a directly bookable service:

new review appointment screen

When booking or rebooking an appointment, triaging or deferring, confirmation screens are display:

  • details on what happens next with the referral
  • any appointment details, where applicable
  • information for the patient
  • links for further actions, for example emailing or printing information for the patient and/or adding a referral letter

new appointment confirmation screen

Deferring

When a bookable service is chosen and there are no appointments available the ‘Defer appointment booking’ button is presented.

new defer appointment booking image

Select this option to defer the appointment to the chosen provider. Once selected a Review details screen is shown.

review details before you confirm screen

Once the information has been reviewed and any information relating to the patient’s availability has been added, selecting the green confirm button will present the confirmation screen.

new defer appointment confirmation screen

Triaging

Where the patient wishes their referral to be sent to a triage service select the ‘Request triage’ option:

Request triage new screen

A 'review details screen' will appear, selecting the green confirm button will present the confirmation screen.

Review details sceen

Triage confirmation screen

Rebooking

When rebooking an appointment for the patient, the current booked appointment information is displayed, along with any services included on the original shortlist of services.

Review rebooking screen

As with the other processes, once an alternative service and/or date has been selected a 'review new appointment' screen is shown. This presents the new appointment details and the reason for rebooking, which should be completed.  

Review new appointment screen

A confirmation screen will show once the ‘Rebook appointment’ button has been selected.

Drop-in sessions will take place week commencing 12 May 2025 for users to ask questions regarding the changes to the layout of the referrer screens. Details on how to attend a session can be found on an e-RS notification issued on 29 April.

Please note, we will not be demonstrating any details of the changes on this webinar, so please ensure you have reviewed the above information and watched the overview video prior to attending one of these sessions.

answer any questions.  

May 2025 – Creating and processing advice and guidance requests – referring users

The high level changes are described below. These screens and further information is also covered in the supporting video (duration 7 mins).

Creating advice and guidance request

When creating a new advise request, the current ‘Service selection’ screen has been updated with a new ‘Advice service search results’ screen.

Key changes:

  1. All action buttons, at the bottom of the screen, have been moved to a new green ‘Request advice’ button.
  2. The current ‘Miles’ column header now shows as ‘Distance’.
  3. To improve the layout of important information, the appointment type, Service name and Location has been merged into the ‘Service’ column.
  4. ‘Referrer alert’ has been renamed to ‘Notes for referrer’ and the information displays in the column rather than a hover icon.
  5. ‘Indicative appointment wait’ column has been removed.
  6. ‘Indicative treatment wait’ header has been renamed to ‘Average treatment wait time’.
  7. ‘Request’ button has been renamed to ‘Request advice’.

Sending an advice and guidance request

The current ‘Advice request’ screen has been updated with a new ‘Making an advice request’ screen which displays information more clearly.

‘Making an advice request’ screen.

Key changes:

  1. The status of the advice request is displayed.
  2. If required, select 'what type of files can I upload' to see details of valid attachments.
  3. If required, select 'more information' relating to authorising this advice request to be converted to a referral.
  4. ‘Send request’ button has been renamed to ‘Send message’.
  5. When selecting the ‘Send message’ button any mandatory information not entered, will be highlighted in an error message, indicating the information needed to proceed.

Making an advice request’ screen.

Reviewing an advice and guidance request

Key changes:

  1. The current ‘Advice Request Details’ screen has been updated with a new ‘Advice summary’ screen.
  2. The status of the advise request is displayed.
  3. The ‘Select action’ button presents all the actions available for the request status.
  4. Clinical information section shows all documents attached through a GP clinical system.

Reviewing an advice and guidance request

Ending an advice and guidance request

Key changes:

  1. End conversation check screen.
  2. The status of the advise request is displayed.
  3. New banner detailing when the request was ended and the user who undertook the action.

Ending an advice and guidance request

Converting an advice and guidance request to a referral

Key changes:

  1. The status of the advise request is displayed.
  2. If needing to convert this advice request to a referral, choose 'Create referral' from the green ‘Select action’ button.

Converting an advice and guidance request to a referral

Drop-in sessions will take place week commencing 12 May 2025 for users to ask questions regarding the changes to the layout of the referrer screens. Details on how to attend a session can be found on an e-RS notification issued on 29 April.

Please note, we will not be demonstrating any details of the changes on this webinar, so please ensure you have reviewed the above information and watched the overview video prior to attending one of these sessions.

March 2025 - changes to Service Definer Enquiries

The Enquiries tab for service definers was renamed to ‘Quick search’. 

Image showing the Enquiries screen before the update.

Selecting Quick search will display a new screen as shown below:

Image showing the new quick search screen after the update.

The new Quick Search tab allows users to search for information on: 

  • services  
  • slot availability

Please note that the restricted services enquiry is no longer available.

How the new searches are displayed 

1. Service search (formally service directory).

The image below shows the Service Directory search screen prior to the update. 

Image showing the service directory search screen before the update

The new Search option allows users to find specific services. Select Services and complete the required fields within the new Search for a Service screen as appropriate and select ‘Search’.

Image showing search for a service

The search results are displayed.  

Image showing search results

‘No results found’ will be displayed if there are no services matching the search criteria. 

Selecting the service name will display further information about the service. 

Image showing service details

Select ‘Go back’ option to return to the search results screen. 

2. Check Slot Availability search.

The image below shows the Slot Availability search screen prior to the update. 

Image showing slot availability search before the changes.The new Check Slot Availability search has been changed to make all the sections mandatory to perform a search. The option to search for a specific service has been removed.

Image showing check slot availability screen after the changes

If any of the mandatory sections are incomplete when searching an error message will be displayed highlighting which sections are missing.

Image showing the error message for mandatory fields for slot availability.

The image below shows the slot availability results.

Image showing slot availability results after the update

Selecting the service name will display further information about the service. 

January 2025 – View referral history - all users

The view referral history screen prior to the changes:

Image of the history screen prior to the changes

This change included:

  1. Referrer and BMS Admin users now see the Referral history displayed in a new format as displayed in the image below:

Image of the history screen after the changes

 

2. Updated wording for each action which is described in the table below. The changes to the action wording are reflected for all users, including providers. However only referring and BMS users can see this referral history displayed in the new format

3. Action wording changes have been updated in the e-RS data extract (EBSX03), as described below.

 

Previous History Actions

Previous EBSX03 Description

New Action wording (for both)

UBRN Issued

UBRN Request

UBRN created

Request Advice

Advice

Advice requested

Respond To Advice

Respond

Advice response received

Cancel Advice

Cancel Advice

Advice request cancelled

Close Advice

Close Advice

Advice conversation closed

Create Request

Create Request

Referral created

Modify Request

Modify Request

Referral updated

Cancel Request

Cancel Request

Referral cancelled

Add Referral Letter

Add Referral Letter

Referral letter added

Modify Referral Letter

Modify Referral Letter

Referral letter updated

Request Triage

Request Triage

Triage requested

Record Triage Outcome

Record Triage Outcome

Triage outcome recorded

Record Triage Outcome

Record ASI Outcome

Triage outcome recorded

Record Triage Outcome

Record Triage Outcome

Triage outcome recorded

Defer to Provider

Defer to Provider

Referral deferred to service provider

Book Appointment

Book Appointment

Appointment booked

Cancel Appointment

Cancel Appointment

Appointment cancelled

Appointment Cancelled in PAS

Appointment Cancelled in PAS

Appointment cancelled in provider system

Rebook Appointment

Rebook Appointment

Appointment rebooked

Defer Rebooking

Defer Rebooking

Rebooking instructions added for provider admin

Rejected Cancellation

Rejected Cancellation

Appointment cancellation not confirmed

Detect Displaced Appointment

Detected Displaced Appointment

Displaced appointment identified

Printing Completed

Printing Completed

Referral exported or printed

Add Clinical Information

Add Clinical Information

Clinical information added

Accept Referral

Accept Referral

Referral accepted

Automatically Accept Referral

Automatically Accept Referral

Referral automatically accepted by provider system

Reject Appointment

Reject Appointment

Referral rejected

Record Assessment

Record Assessment

Assessment recorded

Modify Assessment

Modified Assessment

Assessment updated

Complete

Complete Assessment

Assessment completed

Add Shortlist

Add Shortlist

Onward referral created

Add Additional Requirement

Add Additional Requirement

Additional requirement added

Update Additional Requirement

Update Additional Requirement

Additional requirement updated

Cancel Additional Requirement

Cancel Additional Requirement

Additional requirement cancelled

DNA

DNA

Patient did not attend appointment recorded

Record DNA

Record DNA

Patient did not attend appointment updated

Process DNA

Process DNA

Patient did not attend appointment resolved

Record ASI Contact

Record ASI Contact

Contact with patient recorded

Contact

Contact

Contact with patient recorded

Contact Referrer

Referrer Contact

Overdue referral letter requested

Send Email

Send Email

Referral email sent to patient

Initial Notification Attempt

Initial Notification Attempt

Referral notification sent to NHS App

Reminder Notification Attempt

Reminder Notification Attempt

Referral reminder sent to NHS App

Reminder Letter Sent

Reminder Letter Sent

First referral reminder letter sent

Reminder Letter Sent

Reminder Letter Sent

Second referral reminder letter sent

Remove Patient Lock

Remove Patient Lock

Referral lock removed

Remove from Worklist

Remove from Worklist

Referral removed from worklist

December 2024 - Referral summary screen – referring and BMS Admin users

The previous ‘Referral summary’ screen layout (shown in the image below) has been updated and some information moved to different areas of the screen.

Image of the referrers referral summary screen prior to the changes

The new layout includes:

  1. A new ‘Go back’ link at the top left of the screen.
  2. Links to email or print the referral instructions are presented together under the referral summary page title.
  3. All the patient’s referral details are displayed in a new panel on the left side of the screen.
  4. The ‘Action’ button has been renamed ‘Select Action’.

Image of the referrers referral summary screen with new layout

December 2024 - Adding and modifying clinical information - referring users

The ‘Referral attachments’ screen layout (shown in the image below) has been updated.

Image of the referral attachments screen prior to the changes

The new layout includes:

  1. The ‘Referral attachment’ screen renamed to ‘Manage referral attachments’.
  2. The ‘Choose a file’ button renamed to ‘Select file’.
  3. The ‘Link advice attachments’ changed to a link named ‘Link advice summary files’.
  4. A new ‘Date added’ column.
  5. The ‘Submit’ button renamed to ‘Save’.

Image of the managed referral attachments screen with new layout with one file attached

6. Selecting the ‘Save’ button will now present a message confirming the action on the referral summary screen.

Image of the confirmation message when the user saves the changes

December 2024 - Maintaining and adding additional requirements - referring and BMS Admin users

The ‘Update additional requirements screen layout (shown in the image below) has been updated.

Image of the update additional requirements screen prior to the changes

The new layout includes:

  1. The ‘update additional requirements’ screen renamed to ‘Manage patient’s additional requirements’.
  2. New radio buttons indicating the status for each additional requirement. These options have been updated to provide a more accurate status type.
  3. The ‘Confirm’ button renamed to ‘Save’.

Image of the manage patients additional requirements

4. Selecting the ‘Save’ button will present a message confirming the action on the referral summary screen

Image of the confirmation message when the user saves the changes

December 2024 - Emailing patient referral instructions - referring and BMS Admin users

The Check Patient NHS Login Email (shown in the image below, when selected from the referral summary screen) has been updated.

Image of check NHS patient email screen before the update

The new layout includes:

  1. The ‘Check patient NHS login email’ message header renamed to ‘Email patient referral instructions’.
  2. Message wording updated.
  3. ‘Close’ button renamed to ‘Go back’.
  4. ‘Yes, Send Email’ renamed to ‘Send email’

Image of the check patient NHS login email message with new layout

5. Selecting ‘Send email’  will present a message either confirming the email was sent or informing that it was not successful and recommending that the letter should be printed for the patient. These messages appear on the referral summary screenImage of the confirmation and error messages when the user saves the changes

December 2024 - Remove referral from worklist - referring users

The information which appears when a referring user actions any of the following referral states has been updated:

  • 'Assessment result’ from the 'Assessment returned / Cancelled / DNA' worklist
  • 'Cancelled’ from the 'Assessment returned / Cancelled / DNA' worklist
  • ‘Update available – referral accepted’ (when an advice and guidance has been converted into a referral and needs to be removed from the 'Advice and guidance' worklist

The Remove from worklist message screen prior to the changes:

Image when removing a referral from a worklist prior to the changes

The new layout includes:

  1. The wording updated and the user required to confirm the action.
  2. The ‘Ok – remove from worklist’ button renamed to ‘Remove referral’.
  3. A ‘Go back' link to return to the previous screen.

Remove referral from worklist message screen after the changes:

Image when removing a referral from a worklist with new layout

4. Selecting the ‘Remove referral’ button will present a message confirming the action on the referral summary screen.

Image of the confirmation message when the removes the referral

December 2024 - Unlock referrals - BMS Admin users

The message displayed when a BMS Admin user attempts to unlock a referral has been updated.

The Unlock referral message screen prior to the changes:

Image when unlocking a referral prior to the changes

The new layout includes:

  1. Updated descriptive wording
  2. ‘Go back’ link replacing the ‘Go back to Referral summary’ link

Unlock referral message screen after the changes:

Image when unlocking a referral with new layout and wording changes

3. Selecting ‘Confirm’ now presents a message confirming the action

Image of the confirmation message when the user unlocks the referral

October 2024 - Changes to how users view enquiries – referrers

The Enquiries tab for referring clinicians, referring clinician administrators and referring administrators, has been renamed to ‘Quick search’. 

The previous tabs are displayed below with the Enquiries tab selected. 

tab view before being updated

How the tabs are presented after the update is shown below.  

updated tab view

Please note that the Directory of Services tab has also been removed. Further information on this change is available on this page in the ‘October 2024  - Directory of services search – referrers and BMS Admin’ section. 

The Quick search tab allows users to search for information on: 

  • services (previously displayed in the directory of services tab)  

  • referrals (for example, searches for 2-week wait referrals or cancelled referrals) 

The restricted services enquiry is no longer available.

quick search tab and search options available

How the new search categories are displayed 

  1. Services – review the information in the section ‘October 2024  - Directory of services search – referrers and BMS Admin’ on this page for more information on how this has been presented. 

  2. Cancelled referrals.
    Enter the criteria for the search as required and select ‘Search’. 

search for cancelled referrals

The search results are displayed.  

cancelled referrals results screen

The message ‘No UBRNs found’ is displayed if there are no referrals to present. 

3. 2-week wait referrals. 

Select the appropriate options under ‘Do you want to add a referring clinician?’ and select ‘Search’. 

search for two week wait referrals screen

The search results are displayed.  

two week wait referrals results screen

The message ‘No 2-week wait referrals found’ is displayed if there are no referrals to present.

October 2024 - Directory of services search – referrers and BMS Admin

The Directory of Services tab has been removed and the service search function has been moved to the new ‘Quick search’ tab.  The image below shows the existing tabs (some users will not have the Enquiries tab displayed).

 tab view before being updated

The image below shows the tabs since the update (the Enquiries tab was renamed to Quick Search– see ‘October 2024  - Changes to how users view enquiries – referrers’ section on this page). 

updated tab view

To find specific services complete the required fields as appropriate and select ‘Search’.

screen displaying search fields to be completed

The search results are displayed.  

screen displaying search results

The message ‘No results found’ is displayed if there are no services matching the criteria. 

Selecting the service link will display further information about the service. 

screen displaying service details

Selecting the ‘Go back’ option will return to the search results screen. 

September 2024 – Archive referrals – referrers

Archived referrals can be viewed from the patient activity area by selecting the ‘View archived referrals’ link.

Please note referrals and advice and guidance requests do not currently archive after 18 months. This function will be re-enabled in a future e-RS system update

patient activity showing view archived referrals link

Below are the previous screen layouts:

Archive screen

Archive warning message with password to access archived referral information

Archive screen if no information to be displayed

Below are examples of how the new archive screens are presented:

Archive screen after 14.5 release

Archive warning message with password to access archived referral information after 14.5 release

Archive screen after 14.5 release if no information to be displayed

August 2024 – Logging into e-RS – most users

Layout changes were made to the screens when users log into e-RS.

The screens which are displayed depends on how many organisations the user has access to and how many business roles are allocated to the user.

Example 1: the user has access to one organisation and has one role associated to them.

Changes: there are no changes to the way they log in.

Example 2: the user has access to multiple organisations and more than one role associated to them.

Changes: the user now must choose the appropriate organisation either by selecting a radio button (if there are fewer than 5 options) or choosing from a drop down (where there are more than 5 options).

Screen image below of 5 or fewer organisations to choose from.

e-RS login screen showing radio buttons against organisations

Screen image below of more than 5 organisations to choose from.

e-RS login screen showing dropdown list for organisations

After choosing an organisation the user needs to select the role they wish to log in as:

Screen image below of 5 or fewer roles to choose from.

e-RS login screen showing radio buttons against user roles

Screen image below of more than 5 roles to choose from.

e-RS login screen showing dropdown list for user roles

Example 3: the user has access to one organisation and they have multiple roles aligned to them.

Changes: the user is asked to select a role.

Screen image below of 5 or fewer roles to choose from.

e-RS login screen showing radio buttons against user roles

Screen image below of more  than 5 roles to choose from.

e-RS login screen showing dropdown list for user roles

If the user chooses the service provider clinician admin role, they then need to select the appropriate service provider clinician.

e-RS login screen showing radio buttons against user roles

Example 4: when a user accesses e-RS through a local clinical system and has more than one role associated to them.

Changes: the user needs to select the appropriate role. For example, referring clinician or referring clinician admin role.

August 2024 – Cancel referral and appointment – referrers and BMS admin users

Screens have been updated when a user cancels a directly booked appointment or a referral to a directly bookable service.

cancel referral screen with radio buttons for reasons for cancel action

After selecting the ‘Continue’ option. A new screen is displayed asking whether the referral and/or the appointment is to be cancelled.

screen with radio buttons to indicate if the referral needs to be cancelled

The screens which follow in this section depend on the chosen action.

User will notice that the reason descriptions have been updated. No coding change have been made so extracts are not impacted.

Cancel appointment

When wishing to cancel the referral appointment, choose an appropriate reason and complete further information if/when required.

Drop down list on screen to select reason for cancelling the appointment

Note that some reasons will also cancels the referral request, for example ‘Referral no longer needed’. The screens when cancelling a referral request are described in the ‘Cancel referral request and appointmentsection below.

The following screen is displayed needing the information to be reviewed before selecting the 'Cancel appointment' button. 

information screen to be reviewed and confirm to cancel appointment

A confirmation screen is then displayed.

appointment cancellation confirmation message

Cancel referral request and appointment

If the referral request and appointment is to be cancelled, choose an appropriate reason and complete further information if/when required to continue.

– Radio buttons on screen to select reason for cancelling the referral

Review the information on the screen and select ‘Cancel referral’.

information screen to be reviewed and confirm to cancel appointment and referral

The confirmation screen is then displayed.

referral cancellation confirmation message

What’s changed?

1. The reason descriptions have been renamed. The tables below indicate where these have changed:

Referral request cancellation

Old description New description

Patient intends to go private

Patient will go to a private clinic
Referral no longer required Referral no longer needed
Referral raised in error Referral created by mistake
Other reason Other

Appointment cancellation 

Old description New description
Patient is ill Patient is sick
Patient intends to go private Patient will go to a private clinic
Referral no longer required Referral no longer needed
Referral raised in error Referral created by mistake
Other reason Other

2. The new reason descriptions are replicated in the EBSX03.

August 2024 – e-RS alerts – all users

Messages are issued to users to ensure they are aware of key information about the e-RS system.

Since this update, the current ‘Alert’ function displayed at the top of each e-RS screen has been renamed to ‘Notifications’.

An additional change has been made when a critical message is issued. This information will now display in a yellow banner at the top of each e-RS screen rather than the previous pop up message at the bottom left of the e-RS screen.

Below is the screen layout before the change.

e-RS screen show the alerts link and critical alert before the screen changes have been applied

Below is the screen layout after the changes.

e-RS screen show the notifications link and critical alert banner in updated screen layout

There were no changes to the critical messages 'Read now' and 'Remind me later' functions.

When ‘Notifications’ is selected all active published messages are displayed in a new layout with the search function at the top of the screen.

Below is the screen layout before the change.

e-RS screen show the alerts screen and search window before the screen changes have been appliedBelow is the screen layout after the changes.

e-RS screen show the alerts screen and search field in updated screen layout

In the new layout any alert with a red dot indicates the message hasn’t been read. The alerts with ‘High priority’ labels are critical messages and should be read by the user.

12 July 2024 – Recording patient contact – BMS Admin users

When recording contact with patients as a BMS admin user, the following screens have been updated.

Previous ‘Contact’ screen

Contact screen prior to screen layout changesUpdated ‘Record your contact with the patient’ screen

Record your contact with the patient screen displaying new layout

The new screen layout has a comments box to add the relevant information.

Once the information has been saved the user will return to the referral summary screen where a confirmation banner is displayed.

referral summary screen displaying confirmation banner that the patient contact has been recorded

14 June 2024 - Find patient screen and associated referrals – selected users

When searching for a patient in e-RS the following screen layout within the ‘Patient’ tab has been updated for all referring users and call centre staff with the following roles:

  • Referring clinician
  • Referring clinician admin
  • Referring admin
  • BMS Admin
  • BMS HCP Proxy

The image below shows the Patient tab screen prior to June 2024:

The new ‘Find a patient’ screen continues to allow a search to be performed by selecting the appropriate search option. The images below shows the different search options and the Patient tab screen since June 2024:

  • NHS Number

image showing the find a patient screen with the NHS number radio button selected

 

  • UBRN (Unique Booking Reference Number)

image showing the find a patient screen with the UBRN radio button selected

 

  • Patient details (formally 'Demographics')

image showing the find a patient screen with the NHS number radio button selected

If patient details is the chosen search option the following screen is displayed:

image showing the search for a patient screen where search details can be added

Selecting the 'Search' button on any of the screens displays the following new 'Search results' screen:

image showing the search results for the patient

Areas numbered on the above image:

  1. 'Update patient and contact details' to edit the patient information.
  2. 'See patient contact details - click on this link to expand the section to reveal the patient contact details.
  3. ‘Refer or seek advice’ will replace the current ‘Refer/Advice’ button.
  4. ‘Patient activity’ section has replaced the ‘Patient Activity List’ title. Changes in area include the:
    • columns being displayed in a different order than before
    • removal of the 'Clinical Information Last Updated' column
    • 'Category' column replaced with a 'Status' column, which matches the state seen in the Referral Summary Screen
    • removal of the 'Print List' option

Note: users may find changing their screen size helpful to view the new layout. Increasing or decreasing the screen in a browser can be done by selecting the three dots from the browser banner and altering the Zoom options. Alternatively users can use a shortcut of Ctrl and + (to zoom in) or Ctrl and - (to zoom out).

14 June 2024 - Viewing/downloading reports/extracts – all user who have access to the ‘Reports’ link

The following changes were initiated in the e-RS system update in June:

  • Removal of ‘Reports’ link

As referring clinicians, referring clinician admin and referring admin users have no reports available to them the ‘Reports’ link, previously displayed at the top of the screen, has been removed.

image of the reports link

  • Renaming of ‘Reports’ link

All other users who have access to reports or extracts will now see the ‘Reports’ link renamed to ‘Data’.

image of the data link

  • Layout changes to the report/extracts

The screen layout has changed for all users who have access to reports/extracts.

image of an example of the original Reports screen

Although the information is displayed differently no new functionality has been introduced meaning users will continue to see the reports/extracts available to their role type.

Below are examples of the new screen layout. The information shown is role dependent.

Selecting Data :

image of an example of the new data screen

Selecting ‘System scheduled reports’:

image of an example of the new select a report screen

Selecting ‘Find out more about these reports (opens in a new tab)’ from the bottom of the ‘Select a report type’ screen, opens further information within the e-RS Help.

Selecting a report type displays the reports available by year and month:

image of an example of the new download report screen

Selecting ‘System scheduled extracts’:

image of an example of the new select an extract screen

Selecting ‘Find out more about these extracts (opens in a new tab)’, from the bottom of the ‘Select an extract type’ screen, opens further information within the e-RS Help.

Selecting an extract type displays the reports available by year and month:

image of an example of the new download extracts screen

Selecting ‘Advice and guidance extracts’:

image of an example of the advice and guidance activity extracts screen

10 May 2024 – Update patient details - all users

The current 'Update Person' screen has been reformatted for all users of e-RS.

The image below shows the Update person screen prior to May 2024:

update person screen pre May 2024The new ‘Update patient details’ screen has sections that can be expanded to view and amend the patient details.

The image below shows the screen with expanded sections minimised:

update patient details screen with expanded sections closed

The image below shows the screen with patient information section maximised:

patient details screen with expanded sections opened

10 May 2024 – Colour change on e-RS banner - all users

The previous grey banner, where the patient details were displayed (highlighted below in the yellow box), has been changed to become a white background to align with accessibility standards.

Image of the e-Referral Service banner showing a grey banner background.

10 May 2024 – BMS admin users

The following changes affect users who access e-RS with the BMS admin role.

1) New referral summary screen

When BMS admin users previously select a UBRN from the patient activity list, dropdown actions were revealed.

options available from the patient activity list prior to April 2024

Since the May release, selecting a UBRN from the patient activity list opens a new referral summary screen which replaces the dropdown list.

new referral summary screen with action button, referral history and Add / update requirements highlighted

Areas numbered on the above image:

  1. Available actions
  2. Referral history
  3. Add / update requirements

This new screen consolidates the patient’s referral information into one place and allows actions to be undertaken from the referral summary screen rather than having to move to different screens to perform tasks.

2) New cancellation screen

Selecting the ‘Cancel referral’ option from the referral summary screen displays a newly formatted screen where the reason for cancellation can be added.

new cancel referral screen

Once submitted a screen will appear asking for the information to be confirmed before continuing.

new check cancellation screen

The final screen displayed confirms that the referral has been cancelled.

new cancellation confirmation screen

Note, when an appointment requires cancelling the option ‘Cancel appointment’ will display from the Action dropdown. There are no changes to the screens when cancelling an appointment.

3) New additional requirements screen

If a patient wishes to amend their additional requirements this can be undertaken from referral summary screen.

add/update additional requirements links

Selecting the  ‘Add/update additional requirements’ link will present a screen to make the required changes.

new additional requirements screen

Last edited: 16 June 2025 11:12 am