District Nurse Interface – Request for Practice Input

DDLMC has embarked on a piece of work focused on improving the interface between General Practice and District Nursing teams across Derbyshire.

This follows consistent feedback from practices regarding challenges in some area, which have included wound care, catheter management, and some aspects of end-of-life support. Practices have reported variation in referral processes, response times, and clarity around responsibilities, which can impact both patient care and staff wellbeing.

We fully recognise the essential role District Nurses play in our communities and are approaching this work collaboratively, with input from community nursing leads and ICB colleagues. Our aim is to support both teams by identifying areas where expectations can be clarified, processes streamlined, and communication strengthened.

We are particularly focusing on two key areas:

1. What District Nurses are contracted to do — ensuring practices have a clear understanding of the scope of DN responsibilities under current service specifications.

2. Resourcing issues — identifying situations where DNs are unable to deliver contracted services due to staffing pressures, capacity constraints, or other operational barriers.

We are asking practices to share:

- Examples of good working relationships or effective joint working with DN teams.

- Specific challenges or recurring issues you’ve encountered in either of the two areas above.

- Suggestions for improvements — whether operational, clinical, or administrative.

Please email the office ddlmc.office@nhs.net if you’d like to contribute. We’re happy to receive informal notes, bullet points, or more detailed reflections — whatever works best for you