This guide covers sending one message to one client from their Outreach tab — by text, email or WhatsApp.
It does not cover the Messages inbox, emailing a whole list at once, household outreach, or referring and signposting a client to a service; those live elsewhere in Joy. Saving the message into the client's clinical record is a separate guide, as is what to do when a channel is unavailable or a send fails.
Open the send dialog
In the Case Management sidebar, select Client cases.
Open the client.
Select the Outreach tab.
Select Send message at the top right. If the client has never been messaged, select Start a message instead.
The dialog opens with the title Message followed by the client's name, and the line Choose how to contact this client — SMS, email or WhatsApp. Delivery is tracked and replies can be enabled per message.
Choose the channel
Open the Channel list and choose SMS, Email or WhatsApp.
Joy opens on the channel this client was last contacted on, so you carry on in the conversation they already know. WhatsApp only appears if your organisation has WhatsApp switched on.
A channel that cannot be used is greyed out with the reason next to it, for example SMS — no phone number on file, and an amber warning explains it in full. When you can't send a message, or a message fails explains each one.
Underneath the picker you may see a quiet evidence line such as This is the channel this person answers on, usually within under a minute. or This person has answered on SMS 37 times, usually within under a minute. It is information only — it never changes your choice or blocks the send.
Pick who it goes to
For a text or WhatsApp: open To (phone number) and pick a number. Each option shows its label and which one is the default. Underneath, Will be sent to +447700900001 shows the exact number the provider will dial.
For an email: open To and pick an address. To copy other people in, type an address in the CC box and select Add, or select one of the suggested + address chips below it. Remove a chip with its x.
If a number does not look like a UK mobile you will get an amber warning saying it doesn't look like a valid UK mobile number (expected +447 followed by 9 digits). The message may never be delivered. You can still send, but check the number first.
Write the message
Optionally choose a saved wording from Template, or leave it on No template. If you have none yet you will see No templates yet. Use Manage templates to create some.; Manage templates opens the template admin.
For an email only: fill in Subject *. Leave it empty and Joy tells you Add a subject line to send an email. and keeps Send greyed out.
Type into Message.
For a text, a counter under the box shows how much of the single-text budget you have used, for example 30/160 characters. Switching Allow reply on adds a note in brackets — (reply link uses …) — because the reply link is sent as part of the text and takes up some of that budget. Go over the limit and the counter warns that it will be sent automatically as a web link instead of multiple texts; select Preview the text the client will receive to see exactly what arrives, and Hide preview to close it again.
Set the options
Leave Allow reply on if you want the client to be able to answer. (WhatsApp does not show this switch — replies arrive over WhatsApp anyway.)
For a text, Send long text as a short link sends the client a link to the full message instead of a long text.
For an email, select Attach file under Attachments to add documents — Up to 25 MB in total. Each file appears in a row with its size and an x to remove it. Go over the limit and Joy refuses with Attachments too large.
Record the work
Choose the Client case * this message belongs to. Joy fills in the case you came from. Without one you see Choose a client case before sending. and Send stays greyed out. If the client has no cases at all, the box reads No cases yet.
Optionally enter Duration (minutes) — how long the contact took. The box offers the usual presets and accepts any number.
Optionally tick Save to clinical record to file the message back to the client's GP system. See How to save a message to the clinical record.
Send it
Select Send. The button reads Sending... while it goes.
Joy confirms with Message sent, the dialog closes, and the message appears at the top of the Outreach list with a delivery badge showing what is known about it so far.
If the send does not work, Joy tells you why — Message could not be sent with the provider's reason, Text messaging is off, WhatsApp is disabled or Provider not configured. When you can't send a message, or a message fails explains what to do about each.
Remember that a badge such as Accepted by mail server or Sent to network means a provider took your message, not that the client has it.