According to the most recent statistics from the Department of Health, patient referrals to district nurses are at an all time high. Referrals to secondary care could be cut by a quarter as a result of Practice Based Commissioning (PBC), the Department of Health has said. Figures published by the DH last week show that PBC early adopter sites have cut patient referrals for hospital treatment by between 25 and 33 %.

If a 25% reduction was matched across all of England, every year 2.5 million patients could be treated in the community rather than being referred to hospital, the DH has concluded. Community nursing has dramatically changed in the past few years and the role of the district nurse is currently being extended in the UK to encompass further work.

Anne Duffy, Chief Executive of the CDNA said ‘ These figures give a glimpse into the huge workload and expanding roles of district nurses today. I am delighted the Government is moving more care into a community setting which will only enhance patient care however such initiatives will require additional resources so as not to put further pressure on already overstretched district nurses.

“Community nursing faces many challenges such as staff retention due to large numbers of community nurses retiring, and a failure to attract newly qualified younger nurses. Whilst we welcome the move to more community based health care this must be supported by resources and staff.”