EeRS is a new electronic referral system that has been commissioned to role out in the Black Country ICB and in the Birmingham and Solihull ICB areas.

Click here for the January 2024 update for the Black Country

It allows a method of reliably referring directly to secondary care including evidence that a referral has been sent. It will be a web based system so practices will only need a suitable internet connected computing device (including ipads) and an internet connection.

As it goes live for each hospital, it will very quickly become the only easy way for optometrists to refer to ophthalmology.

In the Black Country roll out began in late 2023 with a limited number of sites in Dudley. This has worked well and the scheme is now being extended to all practices in Dudley for referrals to Russells Hall only. Once this has bedded in and other hosptials are able to take referrals, it will be further expanded.

Birmingham and Solihull is still in the planning stage with a phased roll out expected through 2024.

A video demonstration of the system can be accessed by following this link:

https://cinapsissurvey.typeform.com/to/cNhCRPZ5

As a priority, please complete the DSPT which is most easily completed using the QIO website. As you should recently have received a reminder from NHSE to complete the QIO checklist please ensure your DSPT is up to date. If you feel you need help with  DSPT we recommend you view the step-by-step video guide that has been complied by Optometrist and Optical governance specialist Rupesh Bagdai that is available below:

https://help.optom-referrals.org/article/303-qio-tutorialoptical-dspt-checklist

Here are some further resources:

EeRS presentation by Charles Barlow to the Sandwell and Dudley CPD day 18th Sept 2023

EeRS introduction Black Country This is the first update for Black Country optometrists

EeRS Presentation for BlackCountry Optoms This goes into more detail

Hardware help This explains how to check if your windows 10 machine is sufficient for EeRS

An Introduction to Cinapsis This provides an introduction to the system used for EeRS

Cinapsis Onboarding guide This guide explains how to join the EeRS system.

Data Protection Protocol v3 for Optom practices

For a guide to NHSmail explaining the benefits and how to get an email address see this page