Aa district nurse with a specialist practitioner qualification (DNSPQ), I understand how important this role and the qualification are, not only to patients, but also to delivering the aims of providing care closer to home, as described in the Five year forward view (NHS England, 2014). This has to be led by highly competent, experienced and compassionate district nurses who have the additional training required to ensure the necessary skills and competence.
Student nurses have always learnt from qualified staff, in the past on the wards under matron and more recently on placement fro university. With job opportunities for nurses growing ever-more varied, Emily Carney explains what it was like to spend some time with a tissue viability team in Worcestershire...
Due to changes in national healthcare policy community staff, including nurses, are being asked to care for ever-larger and more diverse groups of patients. However, the challenge for staff and service providers is how to deliver higher standards of clinical care while ensuring that patient safety remains a priority. One of the answers is to ensure that staff who deliver any clinical skill do so competently, but reports have highlighted technical skills gaps that need to be addressed. No failings should be regarded as acceptable as they can impact on patient safety and there is a responsibility to address any areas for improvement through education and skills training. The study outlined in this article attempted to capture the perceptions and experiences of community staff to gain an insight into the gaps in clinical skills training and make recommendations for improvement.
Jacky Edwards gives a literature review on types of bandages and bandaging technique.
Jean Charlton describes how a team from the North-East developed a nurse-led seroma aspiration service.
Jean Charlton RGN, CPT, DNCert is a District Nursing Sister, Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Article accepted for publication September 2001.
Teresa Davies describes a case study where a palliative care patient’s pain was managed with an intrathecal line in the community setting
Teresa Davies BN (Hons), RGN is a Community Nurse Llangollen District Nurses
Article accepted for publication: January 2010
Maureen Benbow briefly considers different methods of wound debridement and focuses on the advantages associated with a novel, alternative method of debridement.
Maureen Benbow MSc, BA, RGN, HERC is a Senior Lecturer, University of Chester
Article accepted for publication: July 2011
