Before you start
You need the Accept referral permission (and Add clients if a new client profile will be created). All Owners and Admins have these; Users typically do too — Owners/Admins can adjust this in organisation settings.
Patients enter this flow as inbound referrals — either automatically (Marketplace, guest/secure/service forms) or manually recorded by you.
Step 1 — Find (or record) the referral
In the sidebar, open Referrals (the Inbound referrals page).
The referral will be on the Awaiting tab — the default decision queue.
If the referral arrived by phone, letter, or outside the system, click Record referral (top right), fill in the details, and save. It appears in Awaiting with source "Documented".
Use the search box (name, NHS number, email, referrer) or the priority/source/service filters to find the right referral. Click a row to open the detail panel (demographics, referrer details, reason, form answers, Download PDF).
Step 2 — Send the patient to the triage queue
Open the referral from Awaiting and click Accept.
In the Accept referral dialog, under Destination, choose Send to Triage (hold in the triage queue).
If the system finds similar existing clients, either select the matching one or choose Create a new client.
Set a triage priority/status: Not triaged / Low / Medium / High.
Click Send to triage.
This creates (or links) the client profile but deliberately does not open a case yet. The referral now sits on the Triage tab, which shows Processed and Waiting columns, sorted oldest first — waiting times turn amber at 7 days and red at 14.
Bulk option: on the Awaiting tab you can tick multiple rows (the header checkbox selects the page), then use Send selected to triage from the action bar. Rows that fail (e.g. missing first name, last name, or DOB, or an existing-client match that needs individual review) stay selected with an explanation.
Step 3 — Move the patient from triage onto a caseload
Open the Triage tab and click the patient's referral.
Click Allocate to caseload.
In the Allocate to caseload dialog:
Confirm the client: link a similar existing profile if offered, or keep Continue as a new client (keep the profile created at triage).
Enter a Case name (required; defaults to "New Case"). If triage already linked an existing client with a case, the existing case is reused and you won't be asked for a name.
Choose Client status (Active, Pre-triage, Waiting, On hold, Inactive) and Triage status.
Optionally pick a Case colour.
Tick one or more staff under Assign staff.
Optionally set a Clinical system link (only shown if a clinical integration is configured) and select Wellbeing measures (only shown if your org has active frameworks enabled).
Click Allocate to caseload.
A success dialog then offers Add to clinical record (if an integration exists), View profile, or Close. The referral moves to the Past tab with an Accepted outcome, and the patient now has an open case with the assigned staff.
Shortcut: skip triage entirely
If you already know where the patient is going, in Step 2 choose Add to caseload (create a case now) instead of sending to triage — the same case-setup fields appear and the patient goes straight onto a caseload.