Accessing the HSCNI Network/Dental Portal
In order to connect to the HSCNI Network / Dental Portal a secure connection is required to be established between your Windows-based device (PC, Laptop / Tablet) and the HSCNI Network.
The BigIP-F5 software is used to establish this connection.
The security authentication protocols associated with each URL (listed below) are unique and have a direct correlation to the functionality of the applications hosted on the BSO Dental Portal.
FPS Dental applications
For FPPS Dental Payments, HSCNI Email and Interpreting Service applications, a connection to the HSCNI Network / Dental Portal must be established via the F5 Proxy protocol (linked below).
Clinical Communication Gateway (CCG) eReferral
The Clinical Communications Gateway (CCG) is the national product in HSC for the electronic exchange of clinical information i.e. referral letters between Primary and Secondary Care. Dentists can use CCG to send and receive referrals, and they can monitor the progress of referrals once they have arrived at the hospital.
This application requires a connection to the HSCNI Network / Dental Portal must be established via the F5 VPN protocol (linked below).
Application Functionality
All hosted applications will have inbuilt functionality specific to the application itself rather than the browser used to access it. Should any Dental contractor have queries or encounter problems, please contact the relevant team for further assistance.
Internet Explorer
Microsoft’s retirement of their Internet Explorer browser on the 15th June 2022 had implications for Dental contractors depending on:
- How the Surgery’s IT department (if any exists) reacted to the retirement.
- To mitigate any security risks and / or vulnerability’s to your own network.
- The LCG area the surgery is located in
- CCG eReferral is currently only available within the Belfast LCG
- The Operating System installed on device (PC, Laptop / Tablet)
- Windows 11 removed the Internet Explorer browser completely.
BSO acknowledge that Dentists are independent external contractors. Therefore, BSO has no responsibility for the IT infrastructure in place within surgeries across the profession.
BSO ITS officially only support Microsoft Edge as the recommended browser for connectivity.
Browser Compatibility Issues
The functionality of the CCG eReferral application is directly affected if it is accessed via a browser other than Internet Explorer.
This is a result of the dependency and relationship the application has with Internet Explorer and the additional software required to be installed. NHS NSS (National Service Scotland) provide this software and advise an upgraded package is currently in development.
With the retirement of Internet Explorer and shift to Microsoft Edge, to ensure the continued usage of the CCG eReferral application via a modern browser, BSO have utilised the IE Mode feature with Microsoft Edge to allow the application to function correctly.
CCG eReferral user guide to configure the Microsoft Edge browser with IE Mode.
New Dental Contracts
All Dentists, once their NHS contract is active, who wish to connect to the HSCNI Network / Dental Portal and use any of the hosted applications, must email the eBusiness Team to begin the process.
User Agreement documentation will be required to be completed and returned.