Our Community Nurses are accountable for the overall co-ordination of the care patients receive at home.
With their specialised nursing skills, they care for housebound patients suffering from chronic illness who may require regular injections; diabetic patients who may need assistance; catheter care out in the community including the changing of urinary catheters; phlebotomy; International Normalised Ratio (INR) testing; wound care which is the umbrella term for the management of chronic wounds to compression therapy, leg ulcers or post operative wound care; palliative care to support patients diagnosed with a chronic condition along with families and carers who are involved.
They provide support and symptom management to terminally ill patients who wish to spend their last days at home, whilst working with other agencies to facilitate their wish. To tie in with this the District Nursing team oversee packages of care relating to health, and work closely with the multidisciplinary team to help assess, plan, implement and evaluate both nursing care and care packages.
They work in conjunction with the multidisciplinary team in an attempt to prevent hospital admissions along with facilitating safe discharges out into the community.