Pressures on District Nursing Services
Due to the pressures across the whole system our community nursing teams are facing an increased demand which means they need to reprioritise the care provided.
We want to reassure the public the team will continue to provide high quality safe care 24/7 to the population but it may need to be delivered in a slightly different way in response to the current pressures.
The District Nursing service is still available 24/7 and we will continue to provide a core service to include palliative care, hospital admission avoidance and urgent assessment to continue to support people when they are discharged from hospital.
However, some routine care may need to be revised slightly such as simple dressing changes and bloods to enable the team to prioritise care for those that need it more urgently.
The service is continuing to see an increase in the number of people discharged from hospital, the numbers of housebound patients and we continue to provide support to our nursing care home sector, who are also facing staffing challenges. This coupled with self-isolation and awaiting test results is providing an additional staffing pressure across the service.
To meet this demand, we have also commissioned additional capacity with Marie Curie to facilitate more patient discharges into the community setting. Care closer to home is in the best interests of our patients and we are committed to keeping people out of hospital where they are medically well.
We want to reassure people that reprioritisation of visits is nothing new and will be decided on an individual basis with the needs of the patient at the forefront of the decision making; so if a patient need us to visit we will be there, but if they can wait a few more days and their care will not be impacted the team may come at a later time or date.
Our teams are doing their best to care for their patients with the resource we have and appreciate your patience and understanding at this time.
If patients or their families wish to discuss their care further please speak to the district nurse at their next visit or contact the community service.