We work both within the community and health centre working closely with the primary health care team:

• GP’s
• Health visitors
• Practice nursing staff
• Community physiotherapists
• Hospital services
• Midwives working within hospital settings
• Everyone else in our team

Community Nurses

We aim to provide high quality nursing care to people in their own homes, who are unable to attend their GP’s surgery through illness or disability, not transport problems. “We aim to promote independence and healthy lifestyle”.

What to expect:

Our staff wear navy or green uniforms and a NHS blue logo with their name on. They will also say who they are when they first call. They have photographic identity badges that they will produce on request. All information is treated confidentially with the team.

How do I get to see a District Nurse?

You can be referred by:

• Your GP
• Social services

Other agencies we specialise in:

• Wound care
• Treating leg ulcers
• Care after an operation
• Helping people regain their full potential
• Assessing for and providing equipment that will help you at home
• Help to overcome people’s problems moving around the home

This includes providing necessary standard equipment when circumstances permit:

• Promoting and assessing continence in adults
• Assessing and planning shared care with Social services to help people stay at home and keep their independence
• Care of those with a terminal illness

Care of the dying team work:

District nurses work closely with other community health care staff. Together we form a primary health care team. This team includes:

• Your GP
• Social Services
• Macmillan and Marie Curie nurses
• Health Visitors
• Specialist Nurses, such as Tissue Viability, Continence adviser, Eldercare support nurse, Diabetes support nurse, Parkinson’s specialist nurse, Voluntary agencies

Working together we ensure you get the maximum level of care and help available to you.

How you can help us:

• Please cancel appointments you cannot keep so someone else can be seen.
• Tell us if you change address or GP
• Arrange return of any equipment once you have finished using it be telephoning 01208 251493/01208 251502.
• Patients who receive continence pads may only alter their order through the district nurse. Please do not hoard pads.
• Return unused items to the health centre.

Health Visitors

The health visitors work within a team offering care for the practice. Our team is available during office hours on 01752 842281.

You may wish to make an appointment or call in and see us whilst at the health centre. A large proportion of our work is supporting parents with the care of their babies and young children.

We provide child health surveillance within the first two years of your child’s life through developmental checks. The team run a weekly ‘under-ones’ group for families and their new babies. We also liaise with local parent and toddler groups and pre-schools.

Psychiatric Nurse

We have close contacts with the psychiatric nursing team. In the first instance referral will be by your own doctor.