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Submitting and Dispatching a Referral

Once the Intake and Consent steps are complete, the final step is to review the Referral, submit it, and dispatch it to a service.

Before you submit​

The Review & Submit step shows everything you have entered, grouped by section. Each section has an Edit link that takes you back to the relevant step so you can correct it.

Check that:

  • The client is the right person, and is not a duplicate of an existing record
  • The service is correct — it determines who picks the Referral up
  • The urgency level reflects the actual need
  • Consent is recorded, and any signed consent document is attached

Submitting​

Click Submit. The Referral moves to Pending Service Dispatch and the dispatch dialog opens automatically.

You can dispatch later

Submitting and dispatching are deliberately two separate steps. Pending Service Dispatch means "reviewed, but not yet sent to a team" — it is a normal place for a Referral to sit, not an error.

If you close the dispatch dialog without choosing a service, nothing is lost. The Referral stays on your dashboard with that status, and you can dispatch it whenever you are ready.

Dispatching to a service​

Select the service, then choose one of three options.

OptionWhat it doesWho it suits
Accept entryAccepts the Referral into the service without assigning anyone yetYou know which service, but not yet which Case Worker
Accept & assign kaimahiAccepts and assigns a Case Worker in one action, creating the Service Episode immediatelyYou have authority to allocate and know who is taking it
Send for approvalSends a service request to a supervisor or programme manager to approve and allocateAllocation is someone else's decision
Signed consent document

If no signed consent document has been uploaded, the dispatch dialog shows a reminder. It is a warning, not a block — you can still dispatch, but the document remains outstanding against the Referral.

After a successful dispatch you can return to your dashboard or open the Referral to view it.

Dispatching later​

To pick up a Referral you submitted but did not dispatch:

  1. Find it on your dashboard under Service Review, or in the Referrals list filtered to Pending Dispatch
  2. Open it
  3. Click Dispatch to Service on the amber banner at the top

The banner reads "Dispatch to a service to begin logging activities" — it appears on any Referral that has been submitted but has no Service Episode yet.

What happens next​

If you sent it for approval​

The Referral moves to Pending Service Review and appears in the supervisor's or programme manager's queue. They can:

  • Accept — they select the Case Worker and may add notes. A Service Episode is created.
  • Reject — they must give a reason. The Referral returns to dispatch so it can be sent to a different service.

If you accepted it directly​

The Referral is allocated straight away and a Service Episode is created, with no manager approval step.

Then​

The assigned Case Worker sees the Service Episode on their dashboard under Awaiting Commencement. They commence it, and service delivery begins — from that point work is recorded as Activities against the Service Episode.