Adults, Families and Society Module: Client Study (Based on the role of the District Nurse.)

Essay by dampwoolCollege, UndergraduateB, April 2007

download word file, 12 pages 5.0

The purpose of this assignment is to analyse the role of the community nurse in the delivery of health care to a client within the community setting. This shall be done by focusing on the chosen client, and the condition they suffer from, analysing the care they received and researching the relevant evidence based practice, as well as giving an overview of the role of the district nurse. For the purpose of confidentiality all persons and places have been changed in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2002)The client focussed on for this assignment shall be referred to as “Bess”. She was a frail 86 year old lady who had difficulty walking and used a walking frame for support. She lived with her husband in a warden controlled flat. Bess was first introduced to the district nursing service when she presented at her local G.P. with pain in her lower leg and breakdown of skin with oedema.

The G.P. then referred her to the district nursing team for assessment and treatment.

On referral to the district nursing team, a district nurse would go to see Bess to complete an initial assessment. In Bess’s case the district nurse used the recently introduced Single Assessment Process (SAP) set out by the National Service Framework for Older People (DOH, 2001) the purpose of which is to eliminate the need for repetitive assessments by different professionals involved in her case. The assessment confirmed the G.P.s suspicion that Bess had a leg ulcer and it was also apparent that Bess had quite severe eczema on her legs.

In the community 75% of the district nurses patients have leg ulcers. The proportion of the population likely to suffer from leg ulceration has been estimated to be 1% of adults and over 3% of...