Insert a smartcard and expect to be prompted for a passcode
After inserting a smartcard, the Identity Agent software should immediately become active with the blue and white icon bottom right of the screen flashing. After a few seconds a prompt to enter a passcode will be presented. Examples of what this should look like are shown below (differences with the screens depend on which version of Identity Agent is installed):
Logging onto the Spine
After entering a valid passcode and successful authentication by the identity agent software, a role selection pop-up screen will be displayed. If the screen does appear use the e-RS URL: https://nww.ebs.ncrs.nhs.uk/.
Note: Internet browsers - user are recommend to use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge to access e-RS. To enable these browsers to work a Chrome Plugin is required. Details of how to install this, on both Chrome and Edge can be found on the NHS Digital website.
Find out more about support for Internet Explorer 11 being withdrawn.
Depending on the authorised smartcard roles, there will be one or more available for the card holder to choose:
If there is only one role available, the GemPlus icon should show a blue light and the pop up, which appears when the mouse pointer is placed over the icon, should describe it as “GemAuthenticate : Active”.
A pop-up window confirming your name and authorised role should be visible for a few seconds:
NHS e-Referral role selection page
If the card used has multiple business function roles, then e-RS displays a drop-down list of possible login roles, for the user to choose from:
Alternatively, if the user has only one business function, the system will automatically log in to the user's homepage.
The NHS e-Referral Service homepage
Once e-RS has successfully loaded, a screen like the images shown below is displayed depending on the role profile of the user.
The following screen will be displayed for referrers:
The following screen will be displayed for providers:
