Making a test referral in the staging system
Summary
This guide helps you to create your first test referral, or review a referral form in our staging environment.
The staging environment is not hosted in a secure setting, is only to be used for testing and real clinical information should not be uploaded. Please also note that the system is not connected to NHS Spine and hence features such as the NHS number lookup will not function. Referrals will also not be sent to email addresses, nor will SMS text messages be sent.
The staging environment behaves otherwise identically to the main production environment. Full details of how to use the system can therefore be found in the online manuals which you can access here.
Getting started & logging in
You will have been provided with a username, password and PIN for the test site. If you don't have one of these then please contact the referral centre for more information. You should proceed to login by first visiting the access page of the staging site: https://staging.dental-referrals.org/login
Once you have accessed the site you will see the login screen as show here, simply enter your username and password and press Next. You will then be asked to enter your PIN. As this is a test site, the PIN is set - however, on the production system you will enter a new PIN every time time you wish to refer and this will be sent via a text message or voice call.
Once you have logged in you will see the main landing page that will offer you the chance to use an existing referrer, or enter a new GDC number to populate your forms. If you wish to use an existing referrer simply click on their name, or enter your GDC number to add a new referrer.
Once this has been completed you can start a test referral.
Selecting a referral form to use
You will a button the top right of the screen like this: 
Click this and you will be shown a list of possible referral forms. Simply select one by clicking on it and the referral form will be presented to you for completion.
You can now test your form and see how it functions. You may be asked to complete mandatory fields as part of this process. In certain parts of the form, such as the medical history the system may suggest inputs to you; an example of this is in the prescribed drugs section where there is a link to the BNF.
You may wish to test the radiograph upload process. We have prepared a range of test radiographs for you to use and these can be downloaded here. Just unzip the file and then you can upload these to see how the date picker and upload system works.
Once you have completed a referral, simply click Submit Referral and then you have sent your first referral! You will be taken back to your dashboard where you will be able to see your referral and the start another if you wish.
Feel free to explore!
You are free to submit as many referrals as you like, in any format and thorough test the system. Please consider using screen shots if you wish to provide any feedback on any elements of the system or if errors are found. You may also wish to explore the Save Draft functionality - please bear in mind that this account is used by several testers, so you may find that your draft referral has been submitted by someone else next time you log in!
You cannot damage, break or corrupt the staging system - so please feel free to explore all of the functionality - just remember that this is not a secure system and should not be used for any real clinical details. If you need any help with using the system please email d.referrals@nhs.net