District Nursing Service

The district nursing service offers a comprehensive portfolio of nursing, healthcare and case management services to housebound patients (in your own home or residential nursing home) requiring nursing support in the community 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

In response to identified health needs, the service offers nursing treatments, disease prevention, promotion of health, independence and self-care.  This is achieved through the provision of appropriately trained and qualified health professionals (district nurses, community staff nurses and health care assistants) who have close links to a variety of other services and agencies including Community Matrons, Tissue Viability, Continence service, Macmillan, Home loans equipment service, GP practices and social care agencies.

Some examples of the services provided.

• Holistic assessment, care planning, monitoring and review of all patients on the caseload appropriate to need.
• Chronic disease management for housebound patients with the aim of prevention of unnecessary hospital admissions.
• Partnership working with other care providers to enable delivery of effective and efficient patient/carer centred services.
• Palliative and end of life care to enable people to remain at home as desired.
• Assessment and management of complex/non-complex wounds.

 District nursing services are provided on the basis of the health needs of those registered with GP practices within County Durham and Darlington, including evening and overnight service. The service will also provide care to patients for whom the GP is willing to accept responsibility for medical care.

Location of service delivery.

The service will normally be provided in the patient's own home or residential nursing homes with team bases in the following localities:
Darlington
Derwentside
Durham & Chester le Street
Durham - Dales
Easington (Whitehouse Business Park, Traynor Way, Peterlee, SR8 2RT)
Sedgefield

Contact telephone numbers

Mon to Sun including Bank Holidays

Single Point of Access Patient Line    03000 267979    

Out of Hours     111         20:00 - 08:00

How long will you have to wait? 

• Urgent referrals will be seen within four hours.
• Non-urgent referrals - contact will be made within two working days.
• Routine referrals - will be seen on basis of clinical need as decided by appropriately trained staff.

Referral route

• Referrals to the service can be made by the patient/carer, health or social care professionals or any other person.
• Decision to admit a patient to the case-load will be made by district nurses or experienced staff nurses according to local referral criteria.
• The district nursing service will utilise new and existing pathways of care, where they are available.
• The decision to discharge patients from intervention will be made by the district nurse or an experienced staff nurse.

What are the expectations of you as a patient?

• To work together with community services to achieve a good outcome for your care.
• To let us know if you are unable to keep an agreed visiting time.
• Speak courteously to community staff.
• Speak up if you do not understand anything about your care.
• To keep your patient held care records safe within your house and return them to community services once care is complete.