Commissioners

When fully implemented, the e-RS will deliver a better patient and professional experience, along with efficiency and financial benefits to referrer and provider organisations.

Find out more about the benefits of e-RS.

Analysis of referral patterns using e-RS data can help provide reliable information to support responsive commissioning. Information and data can be accessed from reports and extracts and the Directory of Services.

More information is available in the following resources:

Commissioning in the NHS e-Referral Service

Best practice guidelines

Best practice guidelines for commissioners

Independent sector provider guidance

Moving to direct booking

Optimising e-RS as a commissioner

The NHS Digital Capacity Alert Guidance details how capacity alerts work within the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS).

This functionality allows NHS England to provide an alert mechanism to referrers that indicates e-RS services where there are capacity issues.

This helps trusts move demand away from their services during periods of pressure and alerts referrers to capacity hotspots, as well as signposting alternative services that do have capacity.

For quick reference guides and e-learning, visit our training section for referrers and providers.

You can also access information from the Help function within the e-RS, or if you're on an N3 connection you can access it without logging in. 

Organisations commissioning services from providers new to e-RS have a responsibility to support the provider to:

• obtain relevant Organisational Data Service (ODS) codes
• access Registration Authority services (smartcards and smartcard roles)
• use e-RS to make referrals in a timely and clinically appropriate way

The materials provided by NHS Digital can support these requirements, however we recommend that local training is also provided.

Further guidance information can be found in our document library.

The National Training Forum has been established to provide open and regular communication channels between the e-RS national training team and a representative panel of e-RS trainers (and/or representatives who are responsible for e-RS training) from the NHS and independent sector. 

The forum members currently meet bi-monthly, via a webinar, to:

• review both delivered and scheduled system release content
• discuss forthcoming functional changes and provide system demonstrations
• consult and seek feedback on learning products and ideas
• allow opportunities to share thoughts, knowledge and ask advice from other e-RS colleagues

Guest speakers are also invited to the meetings to cover learning or system related topics.

As part of a forum members role, the programme and other NHS Digital teams may ask for support to feed into training related research and to review learning materials.

If you're an e-RS trainer (or have responsibility for e-RS training) and wish to become a member of the forum, please send your interest request and job role to [email protected].