If, you have an illness or incapacity that means that you need nursing care in your own home, the district nurse will be arranged for you by the surgery or direct from the hospital. Patients who are likely to benefit from this service include the housebound, the elderly, people with a terminal illness, and those who have recently been discharged from hospital.
District nurses provide wound care, palliative care, continence advice, health promotion advice and advice on co-ordinating care packages. If you move permanently into a care home locally, the district nurse may be able to continue your care. Your GP may also be willing to continue to care for you, or a number of GPs may provide services for the residents of local care homes.