Community Nursing
About this Priority Setting Partnership
The Community Nursing Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) worked with patients, carers and clinicians to identify uncertainties about community nursing in England, in relation to the provision of nursing care to adults (over 18 years) in their own homes, in community nurse led clinics, or in residential homes.
The project was led by a group of NIHR 70@70 senior nurse leaders. The NIHR 70@70 programme was set up in 2018 with the aim strengthening the research voice and influence of nurses and midwives in health and social care settings.
The Community Nursing PSP Top 10 was published in October 2021.
Impact of Top 10s
Top 10 priorities
- How can community nurse teams better meet the complex needs of patients with multiple health conditions?
- How can community nurses promote shared care/self-care amongst patients, and support carers to provide some aspects of care (e.g. changing dressings)?
- How can community nurse teams best contribute to the management of acutely ill patients at home? What difference does this make to hospital admissions?
- What are the best ways for community nurses to involve unpaid carers/ relatives/ friends in decisions about their loved one’s treatment and care?
- How can community nurse teams work effectively with social services and care services to improve the quality of patient care?
- How has community nursing changed in response to Covid-19? Are any of the changes (e.g. timed visits, new skills and working from home) worth keeping?
- Does seeing the same community nurse(s) over time make a difference to the quality of patient care?
- How can community nurses work effectively with other health professionals in hospitals and specialist community services to improve patient care?
- What are the stresses on community nurses and what impact does this have on their health and well-being? How can this be improved?
- How can nurses be encouraged to become community nurses and to stay in the profession?
The following questions were also discussed and put in order of priority at the final workshop
- What is the optimum ratio of patients to staff in a community nurse team to ensure safe and effective care, and what is the ideal skill mix within the team?
- How can community nurses best contribute to end of life care?
- Can better tools be developed to assess whether community nurse teams have sufficient capacity to meet local demand?
- How can a community nursing service best meet the health care needs of frail patients?
- Do community nurses with specialist qualifications make a difference to the quality of patient care?
- What are the best ways for community nurse teams to work with GP practices? How can partnership working between community and practice nurses be improved?
- How can community nurses encourage and promote optimum health amongst their patients, e.g. to help people care for their skin and avoid ulcers?
- What is the best way to organise the working day to ensure community nurses can meet patients’ needs and have a manageable workload?