Using the Main Menu

The main menu (sidebar) provides quick access to all key areas of CAREFUL. From here you can navigate to your organisation, patients, teams, actions, and handovers. The menu also displays notification badges to alert you to pending items requiring your attention.

No special permissions required. All users have access to the main menu, though the available options vary based on your role (Administrator, Team Owner, or Clinical User).

The menu appears differently depending on your device:

Desktop: The sidebar is always visible on the left side of the screen. You can collapse it to a compact icon-only view by clicking the toggle button (× icon when expanded, ☰ icon when collapsed) at the top of the sidebar.

Tablet: The menu is collapsed by default, showing only icons. Click the hamburger menu (☰) to expand the full menu with labels.

Mobile: The menu is hidden by default. Tap the hamburger menu (☰) at the bottom-left corner to open the navigation drawer.

The sidebar contains the following items (from top to bottom):

1. User Profile – Click your name at the top to view your profile, change settings, or update your duty status

2. My Organization – Access organisation-wide patient lists, actions (Administrators only), team members, and activity logs

3. My Patients – View all patients you're currently responsible for across all teams

4. Teams – An expandable accordion showing your team memberships

   • Click "Teams" to view the Teams overview page
   • Click "All teams" (visible when expanded) to see all your teams
   • Click an individual team name to open that team's view
   • Teams display notification badges for pending referrals
   • Teams with chat enabled show unread message counts and mention badges

5. My Actions – View all actions assigned to you

   • Displays a red badge showing the number of overdue actions

6. Handovers – Manage patient handovers you've sent or received

   • Displays a badge showing the number of received handovers awaiting your response

7. Help – Opens CAREFUL's online documentation in a new tab

8. Log Out – Sign out of CAREFUL (you'll be prompted to set yourself off duty if currently on duty)

At the bottom of the sidebar, you'll find the Add patient button. Click (or tap) this to search for an existing patient or add a new patient to one of your teams. This button is disabled if you're not a member of any teams.

The sidebar displays coloured badges next to certain items to alert you to pending tasks:

• Red badge on My Actions – shows the count of overdue actions
• Blue badge on Handovers – shows the count of received handovers awaiting your response
• Badge on team names – shows the count of pending referrals for that team
• Chat badges – show unread message counts or @ mentions for teams with chat enabled

• Quick navigation: On desktop, keep the sidebar expanded for fastest access. On mobile, frequently used items appear in the bottom navigation bar as well.

• Stay informed: Check notification badges regularly – they highlight items that need your attention.

• Teams accordion: If you belong to many teams, the Teams section keeps them organised in an expandable list. Click "Teams" to collapse or expand the list.

• Collapsed mode: On desktop, collapse the sidebar to maximise screen space while still seeing notification badges on the icon-only view.