District Nurses & Health Visitors

District Nursing

If you need a District Nurse please call:

District Nursing: Shelley Manor and Holdenhurst Road : T: 01202 443880

Our District Nursing teams visit housebound patients with nursing needs as well as patients recently discharged from hospital.

District nurses are highly-skilled registered nurses who have undertaken a specialist qualification in community nursing.

The district nursing team includes registered community staff nurses who can provide skilled, complex nursing care and community healthcare assistants who support registered nurses with specificaspects of nursing care.

Registered nurses have a responsibility for training and planning learning experiences for student nurses. Student nurses may accompany staff on their visits and participate in nursing care.

Response times

The district nursing service has an agreed variety of response times. They are not an
emergency service but will respond within the following time frames:

urgent: within two to four hours e.g. symptom control, blocked catheter
non-urgent: usually within 24 hours e.g. by-passing catheters, constipation, wound management
planned: routine visits e.g. changing dressings, hospital discharges, continence.

Eligibility for home nursing

Home nursing will be provided to patients who are housebound, that is; those who require medical transport to enable them to leave their home. We also visit patients where either their diagnosis or the nursing procedure means that home is the best place for the care to take place.

Access to home nursing

Access can be via our supporting services and acute hospitals. Self referral and requests from family, friends and carers can be made, and will be assessed for appropriateness. The patient, where able, must give permission before they are referred.

Your responsibilities

Please let the nursing team know if you are not going to be available when your visit is due.

It remains your responsibility to ensure that dressings and medications are available for the home visit.

Please ensure that you provide liquid soap and a clean towel/paper towel or kitchen roll
for hand washing.

We expect all staff to be treated with courtesy and respect at all times. We ask that patients or others in the home do not smoke during the nurse’s visit and that any pets be secured away from the area of care before the nurse arrives.

Your personalised nursing care

You will be asked for consent to share information with your GP, specialist nurse or others who support your health and social needs. All your confidential information will be kept securely and only essential information shared.

The team will undertake an holistic assessment of your health needs. This may mean referral to a more appropriate service if required.

A basic folder outlining nursing care plans will be left in your home and can be shared with other people or agencies who visit you to support your health needs.

The nurses will aim to actively involve you or your significant others in the nursing care that is planned following assessment. The nurse will consider your preferences within the constraints of available resources.

The nursing team will aim to work with you and your significant others to maximise your independence. This may include signposting you to other services to meet your needs. The nurses will provide your planned care, support, information and advice to minimise complications associated with any health problems that you have.

We aim to put you at the centre of what we do to ensure that you have a say in your care.

Contact the team

The service is not an emergency service and you may be required to leave a message on an answer phone and a member of the team would get back to you.

If you need a District Nurse please call:

District Nursing: Shelley Manor and Holdenhurst Road : T: 01202 443880

The district nurses work Monday – Friday between 8.30 am – 5.00 pm. If the district nurses are not available when you call, there is an answerphone facility where you can leave a message. Messages will be checked periodically throughout the day.

In the case of an emergency, please call your usual surgery, the receptionist will contact one of the nurses directly on your behalf.

If you require a district nurse outside of normal surgery hours, or at weekends or bank holidays, please telephone 111 or

For urgent out of hours requests (5pm- 8am on weekdays, weekends and bank holidays), call 0300 369 0530.

Health Visitors

Who are health visitors and what do they do?

The health visiting service works with children and their families to promote health and wellbeing from the antenatal period up until five years of age.

Health visitors can provide advice and support on a range of health matters including:

transition to parenthood and early weeks maternal mental health (perinatal depression)
breastfeeding
healthy weight, healthy nutrition and physical activity
managing minor illness and reducing accidents
health, wellbeing and development of the child, including support to be ready for school.

Service offer

Your health visitor is notified about your pregnancy from maternity services and will contact you in the antenatal period, between 28 weeks and birth. This contact will be to introduce you to the service, give you advice and support leading up to the birth of your baby, and give you details of our further visits to you.

All expectant parents will be offered a contact ante-natally from 28 weeks of pregnancy.
All families with new babies will be offered a contact in the home between 11 and 14 days after birth.
6-8 week reviews will be offered face-to-face either in the home or a mutually agreed clinic/other suitable setting.
10-12 month development review will be offered either face-to-face or virtual contact in the home or clinic setting
All children will be offered a 27 month development review in the home.
Additional face-to-face and virtual contact for children and families as indicated by need or on parental request.

If you would like to speak with a member of the health visiting team to discuss any concerns or support required, please do not hesitate to call your local health visiting hub.

Our health visiting teams work with families, early years and other health colleagues and agencies to support the health and well-being of pre-school children across Dorset.

Health visiting sits within the children and young people’s public health service 0 to 19, alongside school nursing.

The teams comprise health visitors, public health staff nurses and community nursery nurses. As a training trust, we are committed to supporting the training of student nurses and other allied practitioners and so students may accompany us and be present during appointments.

The service provides information, advice and support to pregnant women, expectant fathers and parents/carers of new babies and young children. This advice includes antenatal support, physical and emotional wellbeing of children, the immunisation schedule, parenting support, health and developmental reviews.

We provide services across Dorset, visiting children and families in their home or in community settings. We also provide a digital offer which enables video calling options using the Attend Anywhere platform.

All expectant parents/carers will be offered a visit from a health visitor at around 28-30 weeks of pregnancy. Parents/carers with babies and children under the age of five who transfer into the area will be invited to access our service.

The Personal Child Health Record

At your initial visit, be it during an antenatal, prior to the birth of your child or during the post natal period, you will be given your child’s ‘Personal Child Health Record.’ This is more commonly known as ‘The Red Book.’ This becomes the main record regarding your child’s growth, health and development (please note; this book remains property of the NHS).

Pattern of Contact

You can expect to have contact with a member of the Health Visiting team, GP or Practice Nurse at the following times. However, contact patterns will vary in accordance to need:

End of Pregnancy: Antenatal Visit
11 – 14 days: New Birth Visit and Newborn hearing screen
2 – 6 weeks: Baby and family wellbeing
8 weeks: GP medical, 1st imms
3 months: 2nd imms
4 months: 3rd imms as well as baby and family wellbeing
8 months: HV developmental review as well as baby and family wellbeing
12 months: Imms
13 – 15 months: Imms
24 months: Developmental review
3.5 years: Pre School review for children with additional needs
3.5 – 4years: Pre school imms / boosters.

Immunisations

Immunisations are the best way to protect your child from serious diseases. The routine childhood immunisation programme has been extremely effective in achieving this. Your Health Visiting Team will provide you with up to date information to support you in making an informed choice.

Support Groups and Contact Numbers

Bournemouth and Christchurch hub - 01305 363043

Email - Dhc.hvhub.bournemouthandchristchurch@nhs.net

Bournemouth and Christchurch

Monday

Somerford Family Hub 9.30-11am Draper Road, Christchurch BH23 3AS

Townsend Children’s Centre 9.30-11am Jewell Road, Bournemouth, BH8 0LT

Tuesday

Queens Park Children’s Centre 9.30-11am East Way, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH8 9PU

Wednesday

Stourvale Centre 9.30-11am 108 Stourvale Road Bournemouth BH6 5JB

Thursday

Boscombe Family Hub 9.30-11am 22 Ashley Close Boscombe, BH1 4PE

Kinson and West Howe Children’s Centre 9.30-11am 129 Moore Avenue, Bournemouth, Dorset BH11 8AU

Please bring your child’s Red Book with you to clinic.

We kindly ask that you attend clinic at least 15 minutes before the end to give us time to see you and not to attend with your child if they are unwell

All our other clinics currently remain appointment only. If you have concerns about your baby’s weight and do not live in an area where there is a drop-in clinic – please contact the relevant Health Visiting Hub to request an appointment