WHAT IS DISTRICT NURSING?

What is District Nursing?

"District nurses have many roles. They undertake complex patient assessments which help to reduce/shorten hospital admissions. They are responsible for managing teams of staff and delegating work according to skill mix. As well as providing nursing care to patients in their own homes they provide health education and promote healthy lifestyles and work closely with other members of the MDT to facilitate care packages. They are frontline workers responding to the needs of the community.” 

“The district nurses' role is pivotal in providing nursing care to patients in the community that have a diverse range of conditions.  Fundamental aspects of this role are health promotion, illness prevention, patient and carer support and empowerment. The DN should be an innovative leader, with the ability to undertake complex patient assessments and have a commitment to delivering excellence.”

“A District nurse is the one who is relied upon to bring "order to the chaos" and to at least make people feel better. They are a conduit between Healthcare and the masses. District nurses Care"

"District Nurses are senior nurses who manage care within the community, leading teams of community nurses and support workers. Typically much of their work involves visiting house-bound patients to provide advice and care, for example, palliative care, wound management, catheter and continence care, medication support. They may be trained to assess patient's needs for equipment provision such as mobility and independent living aids, medical equipment such as specialist beds and mattresses, as well as guidance in applying for grants and welfare benefits. Their work involves both follow-up care for recently discharged hospital inpatients and longer term care for chronically ill patients who may be referred by many other services, as well as working collaboratively with general practitioners in preventing unnecessary or avoidable hospital admissions.

District nurses provide nursing care that allows people to remain in their own homes, maintain their independence, or have additional support after discharge from hospital. As well as treatment, a district nurse can offer advice and support with health concerns."

“The role of the District nurse would be difficult to define in a sentence or paragraph due to be it being highly complex and varied. With each role and responsibility they have comes with a whole new field of additional roles and responsibilities. Take for example the 'Educational role / facilitator'. They are responsible for the education of self, students, colleagues within team, patients and relatives alike as well as any significant others i.e Multi-discplinary teams. A further example is the management role. Management of team, caseload, budget, resources etc."

"District nurses have many roles. They undertake complex patient assessments which help to reduce / shorten hospital admissions. They are responsible for managing teams of staff and delegating work according to skill mix. As well as providing nursing care to patients in their own homes they provide health education and promote healthy lifestyles and work closely with other members of the MDT to facilitate care packages. They are frontline workers responding to the needs of the community."

“What is District Nursing? Could the answer be to provide a 'service' which is both effective and efficient? Effective in that every intervention achieves the aim / desired outcome in the best, most appropriate and focused manner. Efficient in that the intervention achieves the aim/desired outcome in the shortest time and in the most cost effective way.

Efficient is added because of budget limitation. The more efficient a service we can offer, the greater the number of patients we can serve and a greater variety of products we can supply. Defining the 'service' is like defining beauty; it’s in the eye of the beholder. It is driven by many people with many goals, attitudes and ideas. Politicians who want to please / appease voters, in order to stay in power. Academics that have theoretical ideas. Medical staff that see nurses as a labour force to undertake menial tasks, “to be seen but not heard” and managers who try to co-ordinate an ever changing organisation."