‘A district nurse’s day is just like the weather – it’s so unpredictable’

Many elderly and vulnerable people need the help of district nurses who travel to their homes to treat them. Here, chair of the Royal College of Nursing Wales’ Gwent branch, talks us through her typical day

9am and on a late shift it’s into work by 12 noon.

Today is an early 8am shift and I am holding the on-call phone for the team.

It means all calls from patients, surgeries and staff via the call centre will come through to me.

At 7am, as I was reviewing notes for a meeting, I heard the bleep of the on-call phone signalling a message had arrived.

Quickly scanning the message I realise it’s from our clinical nurse specialist from St David’s Hospice care giving me an update on a palliative care patient who had overnight hospice-at-home care.

The patient will need a visit today so I add that straight into my diary.

A district nurse’s diary is her Bible. It contains all the information we need for the day ahead – and without it we are lost.

I have a meeting at 11am so I gather up my documents, diary, phones, coat, equipment bag and off I go at 7.45am.

First stop is the office. I need to check in and make sure all is okay for the day ahead.

There have been phone calls from patients, surgeries and social workers. I deal with the urgent ones and extra calls are allocated out to the team. I check my emails – there are so many of them – and reply as necessary – the rest will have to wait until this afternoon.

I’m out and on the road by 8.30am to visit a diabetic patient. The carer had been held up, so after the insulin injection I made my patient a cup of tea and a slice of toast to keep her going.

We chatted about her day as worked.

It’s the highlight of her week getting to see and socialise with others

Ibut yet keeping her independence by staying at home with help from a district nurse and social care input. I find myself knocking at the door of my next patient, but after 10 minutes