Where to find the page
Select Inbound Referrals from the left-hand sidebar. The page opens on the Awaiting tab, which is your main working queue of referrals that have not yet been processed.
The four tabs:
Tab | What it shows |
Awaiting | Referrals waiting for a decision (accept or decline). This is the default view. |
Triage | Referrals accepted into the triage queue, waiting to be allocated to a caseload. Sorted oldest first so the longest-waiting referrals surface at the top. |
Past | All referrals that have already been decided — both accepted and declined. |
Sent | Outbound referrals your organisation has sent to other services via the marketplace. A blue badge shows the number of conversations with unread provider messages. |
Reading the Awaiting list
Searching and filtering
The search box (Search name, NHS number, email, referrer) matches the client's first and last name, NHS number, email address, referrer name, and referrer organisation. Press Enter or click the search icon to apply.
Three filters sit alongside the search:
Priority — filter to High, Medium, or Low referrals only.
Source — filter by how the referral arrived: Marketplace, Documented, Guest form, Secure form, or Service form.
Service — a searchable multi-select listing only the services your organisation's referrals actually point at. The label shows "All services", the service name, or "Amount selected".
The unread indicator
Referrals you have not yet opened show a New badge (blue) next to the client name and the name is displayed in bold. Opening the referral detail marks it as read.
Key columns
Column | Notes |
Name | Client name, with date of birth and current age underneath (e.g. *DoB 25/04/1980 (46)*). |
Received | Date the referral arrived. |
Service | The service the referral was made for, if specified. |
Referee details | The referrer's name, relationship to the client, and organisation. |
Source | How the referral was submitted (Marketplace, Documented, etc.). |
Priority | High (red), Medium (amber), or Low (grey). |
Pagination
15 referrals are shown per page. Use the numbered pagination controls at the bottom to move between pages. The total count is shown on the left (e.g. *Showing 1–15 of 47 referrals*).
Reading the Triage list
The Triage tab shows the same columns as Awaiting, plus two additional ones:
Processed — the date the referral was sent to triage.
Waiting — how long the referral has been in the queue. Rows turn amber at 7 days and red at 14 days to highlight a queue that is growing stale.
Opening a referral
Click any row to open the referral detail panel. It shows:
Client demographics — date of birth, gender, ethnicity, NHS number, email, phone, postcode, GP surgery, and consent status.
Referrer information — name, organisation, email, phone, relationship to the client, and ODS code.
Reason for referral and any additional information entered by the referrer.
Form answers — structured answers from the referral form, if present.
Communications — a message thread so you can ask the referrer questions without leaving the referral.
Download PDF button to save the referral as a printable document.
For pending referrals, the panel also lets you update the priority and triage status inline before making a decision.
Processing a referral
Option 1 — Accept directly to a caseload
1. Open the referral and click Accept.
2. In the Accept dialog, choose Add to caseload (create a case now).
3. If the system finds a client with a similar name or NHS number, you can link the referral to that existing client instead of creating a duplicate.
4. Enter a case name (required; defaults to "New Case").
5. Set the client status (Active, Pre-triage, Waiting, On hold, or Inactive) and triage status if relevant.
6. Optionally choose a case colour (or leave on Auto).
7. Assign staff — tick one or more staff members.
8. Wellbeing measures — tick any questionnaire frameworks to open trackers for the new case immediately.
9. If your organisation has a connected clinical system, optionally select the clinical system link.
10. Click Accept referral.
After accepting, a confirmation dialog appears. If a clinical system is connected, you can click Add to clinical record to file an acceptance note with optional SNOMED codes.
What happens in the system: A client record is created (or linked), a new case is opened, the referral is linked to the case, staff assignments and wellbeing trackers are set up, and the referral moves to the Past tab with an Accepted outcome.
Option 2 — Accept and send to triage
Use this when you need a senior or specialist review before allocating to a caseload.
1. Open the referral and click Accept.
2. Choose Send to Triage (hold in the triage queue).
3. If a similar existing client is found, you can link to them now.
4. Set the triage status (Low, Medium, or High — or leave as Not triaged).
5. Click Send to triage.
The referral moves to the Triage tab and a client record is created (or linked) but no case is opened yet.
Allocating a triaged referral to a caseload
Open it from the Triage tab and click Allocate to caseload. The same dialog opens as for a direct accept, except the destination is fixed to caseload.
Bulk send to triage (Awaiting tab only)
1. Tick the checkbox on any rows you want to batch (header checkbox selects the whole page).
2. An action bar appears showing how many rows are selected. Optionally pick a case colour for the batch.
3. Click Send selected to triage.
Referrals that can't be batch-processed (missing name/DoB, or matching an existing client needing review) stay selected with a note explaining why.
Declining a referral
1. Open the referral and click Decline.
2. Choose a reason (at least a reason or notes is required).
3. Add optional notes.
4. Click Decline referral.
Default decline reasons: Service not accepting referrals · Inappropriate referral · Duplicate referral · Client declined · Other
Recording a referral received outside the system
If a referral arrives by phone, letter, or any other channel, click Record referral (top-right) and fill in the client and referrer details. It's saved as a Documented referral in the Awaiting tab.
You can either manually fill in the patient details or use the spine to Autofill the details for you if you have the NHS number.
Quick reference — referral sources
Source label | Where it came from |
Marketplace | Submitted by another organisation through the Joy marketplace |
Documented | Logged manually by staff using the "Record referral" button |
Guest form | Submitted via a public guest referral form |
Secure form | Submitted via a secure (authenticated) referral form |
Service form | Submitted via a service-specific public form |