The adult Community Nursing service and integrated multi-disciplinary team (IMT) provides nursing assessment and treatment to patients who are unable to leave their home (permanently or temporarily housebound due to ill health). The Community Nursing service delivers a wide range of nursing interventions to people in their own homes and plays a key role in supporting independence, managing long term conditions, and preventing and treating acute illnesses. The services are required for many reasons, but are commonly needed by adults with a disability, older adults living with frailty and long-term conditions and those who are near the end of their life.
Who is the service for?
Any adult between the ages of 17 and above can access the service if they are registered with a Birmingham GP.
If you or a family member experience a new illness or deterioration of a chronic illness and are able to remain in your/their own home, the Community Nursing service will visit you to undertake an assessment or a review to determine what care can be provided.
All care will be provided in the community within your own home, including residential homes.
The Community Nursing team will make appropriate referrals to other health professional such as the Clinical Practitioners, Therapists or outside agencies such as Birmingham City Council (Social Services) if required.
The service covers the 5 districts of Birmingham (North, East, South, West and Central) and currently has 31 teams delivering care in the patient's homes or a community setting.
The Community Nursing service carries out the following functions:
- assessment
- dressings and wound care
- leg ulcerations and tissue viability (including aftercare of surgical wounds)
- continence assessment
- catheter care
- phlebotomy - services will be provided to all patients who are both housebound and on the current district nurse caseload.
- stoma care
- medication and prescribing
- administration of medicines
- central venous access devices and IV therapy
- safeguarding
Each team is led by an appropriately qualified community nursing team leader and consists of district nurses, community staff nurses, nurse associates, assistant practitioners, health care assistants, administrative staff and student nurses on placement.
The teams provide 24 hour cover and are available 365 days of the year. Day Teams currently covering 0800-1800, Evening Service covering 1800-2230 and Night Service covering 2130-0800.
A District Nurse or Community Staff Nurse will make contact with either you or your family to arrange an initial visit. The nurse will visit you to assess your medical condition and then discuss what care can be provided to support you at home and maintain your health and well-being whilst promoting your independence with the care required.
A Personalised Care Plan will be completed in conjunction with yourself/ carers/ relative/ nominated person with the agreed outcome to your care requirements, your personalised care plan will promote independence and self-care where possible which may include carers/ relatives/ nominated person input. Your care plan will be left in your home for you and other health care providers to review to ensure everyone will know what care you need. When being reviewed by the nurse changes will be documented in your care plan.
Health Care Assistants may support your care as documented in your care plan, such as helping to assist you with personal care and instilling your eye drops or applying prescribed creams or undertaking your observations such as your blood pressure or blood sugar.
Unfortunately, we cannot give exact times of attendance of visits, however we can discuss specific requirements on an individual basis.
Out of Hours Care is provided by Evening Service and the Night Team; these teams will predominantly provide emergent unplanned care whilst the Day Teams will provide both planned and emergent unplanned care.
Clinical Practitioner
All patients under the care of a Clinical Practitioner have been contacted and informed of how to access support through Early Intervention Community Teams.
For any further queries please contact Early Intervention Community teams via the Adult Community Service Single point of Access 0300 555 1919, option 2.
Referral Route
Referrals will be made from a number of sources for a District Nursing assessment.
1) For Urgent Referrals: Telephone call to the BCHC Adult Community Services Single Point of Access on 0300 555 1919, Option 1.
For palliative patients already known to the district nursing team: Telephone call to the BCHC Adult Community Services Single Point of Access on 0300 555 1919, Option 3.
2) For non-urgent or complex referrals please complete the referral form and email or fax the following form to:
Download a copy by clicking here.
Fax Number: 0121 615 2963
Email Address: bchnt.imtreferral@nhs.net
(Fax and Emails will only be picked up between the hours of 8:00am–5:00pm Monday–Friday and 8:00am–12:00pm Saturday and Sunday)
ANY URGENT REFERRALS SHOULD BE PHONED THROUGH AND NOT FAXED OR EMAILED
