Skip to main content

Actions for local IT teams

Bowel Cancer Screening System users will use smartcards and CIS2 to login to BCSS. This replaces the login process via Open Exeter.

Page contents
Local IT teams need to ensure that:
  • devices are using the Version 2.3 (or above) NHS Identity agent software
  • the new NHS Credential Management has been installed
  • devices are ready with NHS Smartcard readers in place

We also recommend that your organisation's devices are upgraded to Windows 10 as older versions of Windows will not be supported in the future.

NHS Identity Agent

The NHS Identity Agent is needed to authenticate a user’s NHS Smartcard credentials with NHS Spine.

Download the latest version; version 2.3.2.0 overwrites current installed versions

NHS Credential Management

NHS Credential Management provides a way of authenticating NHS Smartcard users with internet facing services. 

The NHS Credential Management application allows NHS Spine applications to move away from their reliance on Java applets. Java applets are an out-of-date technology with many security flaws and which limit NHS Spine applications to using the Internet Explorer browser.

Download the latest version of the NHS Credential Management installation file (.msi).

NHS Credential Management installation will work with these operating systems and browsers.

Operating system Google Chrome Microsoft Edge (Chromium\) 
Win 7x32 Yes Yes
Win 7-x64 Yes Yes
Win 8.1-x32 Yes Yes
Win 8.1-x64 Yes Yes
Win 10-x64 Yes Yes

If you install Credential Management, a browser plugin will not be required.

If you're not sure if your internet browser is compatible with the NHS BCSS System, use the smartcard set up checker to test it. You must be logged in with an NHS Smartcard to use this checker.

Find more guidance for configuring NHS identity to work with NHS Smartcards.

The web link is now available https://cis2.bcss.nhs.uk

Last edited: 5 July 2023 12:09 pm