District Nursing

Welcome to the District Nursing Team!

Our aim is to deliver a safe and high quality experience by providing nursing care through a ‘one team approach, with home considered the best and first place of care’. You are at the centre of all decisions made about your care and you will be treated with respect, privacy, dignity and compassion.

Who is the District Nursing Team?

Your District Nursing Team will consist of:

District Nurses who hold a Specialist Practice Qualification
Senior Community Staff Nurses
Community Staff Nurses
Senior Nursing Assistants

There may also be Advanced Nurse Practitioners and Consultant District Nurses working within the District Nursing Service.

Who is the District Nursing team_edited.

Who can receive care from the District Nursing Service?

Any adult who has an identified healthcare need requiring nursing support can receive care.

You can be referred to the District Nursing Service if you require an holistic person-centred nursing assessment or a nursing intervention and you meet one or more of the following criteria:

You are unable to leave your home due to mental or physical illness.
You have a nursing need which makes a home visit more appropriate.
You have been identified as having specific nursing equipment prescribed for home use.
You have been identified as palliative or require assessment of end of life care needs.

What can you expect from the District Nursing Service?

We will work closely with you, your family, carer(s), GP Practice and other Health and Social Care (HSC) Professionals to agree how your needs can be met.

We will complete an assessment, which is a conversation about your needs, how these affect you and what you want to be able to do in your daily life.

An individual plan of care will be developed with you, outlining how your needs will be met and this will be reviewed at regular intervals.

Based on your assessment and plan of care, we will discuss and agree with you how often you need to be seen and for how long.

We will discuss with you the most appropriate place for you to receive your care. This may be at home or in another community setting, such as a clinic.

We will spend time together focusing on how we can support you, where possible, to become more independent in managing your condition/ illness. We will provide you with information and support to help you make informed decisions and choices about your health and wellbeing.

The District Nursing Team will be aware of the local community and voluntary agencies available in your area and will help you to contact them, if you wish.

You will be given your own patient-held record, which belongs to the HSC Trust. Please keep it safe, as we will ask for it at each visit. We will arrange to collect it when you no longer require the District Nursing Service.

We understand that knowing the same District Nursing staff will be visiting your home is important to you. Where possible, we will aim to minimise the number of staff involved in your nursing care.

Trust Policies

The HSC Trust has a Smoke Free Policy to protect our staff. We politely ask that you and/or your carers do not smoke in your home when the nurse is carrying our care for you.
The HSC Trust has a Zero Tolerance Policy, we would ask that you treat our staff with courtesy and respect.
If you have any pets, we would ask that they are kept safely in a different room during the visit.
All staff will carry Health and Social Care Trust photographic identification.

Improving our service

To help us shape and learn how best we can support you, we encourage you to tell us about your experiences. Your views are important and will be treated in confidence. We can advise you how to do this.

How to contact the District Nursing Team

Making a Referral

Referrals to the service can be made by GP practices, other professionals and the general public:-

Via electronic Clinical Communication Gateway (CCG).
To an individual Trust according to the appropriate contact details. SHSCT referral centre details are as follows;

SHSCT

Integrated Care Teams

Access & Information Service

Hours:

Monday to Friday,

9am -5pm.

Email: access.information@southerntrust.hscni.net

Tel: 028 375 64300

GP Out Of Hours: 028 3839 9201

Evening Service operational in:

Newry & Mourne (7pm-10pm)

Craigavon & Banbridge (7pm-11pm)

Armagh & Dungannon (7pm-11pm)

As part of the referral process:-

The person and/or carer must be aware of and consent to a referral to the District Nursing Service (if able).
The persons address and contact details must be accurate.
All relevant information must be forwarded to the District Nursing Service, including any issues pertaining to staff safety, safeguarding or Mental Capacity Deprivation of Liberty (DoL). Any delay in receiving adequate information may result in a delay in prioritising the referral.
A supply of medication (including nurse ‘authorisation to administer medication’ documentation) and dressings must be provided, where required, for treatment following hospital discharge or treatment room care.

Referral Response

The District Nursing Service does not operate a waiting list. Visits will be prioritised based on reason for referral and accompanying information. Visiting times and frequency of ongoing care will be agreed with the patient following assessment.

The District Nursing Team will respond to a referral request within the following time-frames:-

Discharge

A person will be discharged from the District Nursing Service when:-

Care has been completed, they can be clinically maintained in another care setting or the person/carer/family can self-manage.
The person requests to be discharged from the service.
The person transfers out of the GP Practice area, resulting in alignment to another caseload holder/Trust
The person is deceased.