CSMS Launch: End of June 2024

NWL Training Hub would to draw your attention to the recent system letter regarding the final preparations for the transition to the new NHS Cervical Screening Management System (CSMS). This transition will see Open Exeter no longer accessible for Cervical Screening purposes. 

A copy of the letter from NHS England is available at this link. 

Important Updates and Actions Required

We are now in the final stages of testing CSMS, the new IT system that will support the continued success of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. We expect the system to go live during late June 2024. 

From Friday 7th June you will begin to see a new icon appear on your Desktop titled “NHS Cervical Screening Management System”. This is the link that, upon launch of the service, will take you through to the CSMS portal. Until the official launch, you can use this link to carry out the checks requested by NHS England below. 

Please note: The final actions outlined in the system letter issued on 21 May 2024, must be completed by 17 June 2024, by all staff delivering cervical screening services. 

  1. If require access to CSMS as part of your role, please carry out a check to confirm you can access CSMS – this guidance will support completing an access check and what to do if any problems are encountered. 
  2. If you identify that you do not currently have access to CSMS, but require it for part of your role, please inform your practice manager. They will need to request access for you from NWL Registration Authority via [email protected] by submitting the attached excel sheet. There has been a submission by 100% of practices to RA across NWL, so please raise your request for access if you feel you should have been included in the submission for your practice.
  3. Complete CSMS training – Part 1: Introducing the new CSMS and Part 2: Using the new CSMS, which are now live on the Learning Hub (to access, use your e-Learning for Health login). Training must be completed before using the new CSMS.

NHS England records indicate that some users are yet to complete the required access check and training. It is crucial that these final actions are completed before the go live, to ensure a smooth transition. 

Once CSMS goes live, it will be accessed via an NHS smartcard, and the current Open Exeter system will no longer be accessible for the purposes of delivering NHS cervical screening services. That’s why it is important to ensure you carry out the above checks (and training) prior to the launch at the end of June. 

Finally, should you have any questions or require further assistance, please contact the NHS England CSMS Implementation Team at [email protected] or for local queries and signposting, please reach out to Tom Smith (NWL IT – Digital Workflows and Integration Programme Manager) [email protected] . NWL IT acknowledge there have been some delays to this launch from a national perspective, so we appreciate your patience. Ensuring you have completed the above will help encourage a smooth transition later this month.