Healthcare Team

Community Midwives

Due to the wide area the practice covers, maternity services are provided by four different midwifery teams. The location of the team involved in your care will depend upon where you live. The boundaries are set by the Primary Care Trust and not the practice. 

Community Nurses

District nurses care for adults in a variety of non-hospital settings including patients' homes and residential care homes. The aim of the district nursing service is to provide skilled nursing care to predominantly housebound patients.

District nurses manage a caseload of patients and offer emotional support to the patient and their family and, where appropriate, teach basic care giving skills.

The roles of a district nurse may include:

• Showing a patient how to take care of themselves to enable them to manage their own healthcare needs.
• Management of wounds including leg ulcers.
• Management of continence related issues.
• Caring for a patient at home after an operation.
• Caring for patients with a terminal illness.
• Delivering nursing care to enable patients to die at home if this is their wish.
• Appropriate drug administration.
• Advising on the prevention of health complications associated with long term conditions; e.g. diabetes

In addition to the District Nurses, the community nursing team includes a Community Matron who help people with complex health needs achieve as full a life as possible in their preferred surroundings.

Community Matron service

Health Visitors

A health visitor’s role is a varied one and is an integral part of the NHS Community Health Service. The main focus of their work is prevention, helping people to stay healthy and avoid illness. A Health Visitor can be a qualified registered nurse, midwife, sick children’s nurse or psychiatric nurse with specialist qualifications in community health, which includes child health, health promotion and education.

Every family with children under five has a named health visitor. Their role is to offer support and encouragement to families through the early years from pregnancy and birth to primary school and beyond.

They offer help and advice to parents on the following:

• Their child’s growth & development
• Common infections in childhood
• Common skin problems
• Behaviour difficulties including sleeping, eating, potty training, temper tantrums and teething.
• Breastfeeding, weaning, healthy eating, hygiene, safety and exercise
• Postnatal depression, bereavement and violence in the family

The health visitors offer the following regular clinics, all held in the clinic room on the second floor. No appointment is necessary to attend these clinics, other than the first aid sessions.

Diabetes care co-ordinator: Lisa Raine

Lisa can help with self-management of diabetes, booking appointments, medication queries and helping you to access support within the community.