District Nurse Referral

District Nurse Referral

Purpose:

This protocol has been developed to enable staff to send electronic referrals directly to the appropriate District Nursing team within a patient’s GP practice area. The system automatically identifies the surgery’s location and launches the correct referral form, ensuring referrals are directed to the right team without the need for manual searching.

What does it actually do?

The protocol allows users to:

  • Send referrals to the correct community nursing team for patients who are housebound or unable to attend appointments at the surgery.

  • Ensure all referrals are documented within the patient’s electronic health record.

  • Save time by removing the need to manually identify the right District Nursing team.

Accessing the Protocol

The District Nurse Referral protocol can be launched in several ways:

Patient status alert 


  1. A status alert is visible on every patient record.
  2. Clicking this alert will take the user directly to the electronic referral page.

Template 

  1. The referral can also be accessed via both Admin templates and Clinician templates.

F12 Functionality 

  1. Press F12 and search for District Nurse Referral.
  2. Add it to your Favourites for quicker access in the future.
               

How it works

  1. When launched, the protocol automatically identifies the surgery's geographical area.
  2. The user will be given a choice to select which community team to send the referral to based on the service the patient requires.
  3. The correct District Nursing team referral is displayed.
  4. The user simply needs to:
    1. Enter the referral details in the text box or 
    2. Select a pre-configured referral pre-set (if available).
  1. Once completed, click OK and save the patient's record.
  2. The referral is then:
    1. Sent electronically to the appropriate District Nursing team.
    2. Stored within the patient's record for future reference.


Key Benefits

  • Quick and simple referral process.

  • Eliminates errors when selecting the correct District Nursing team.

  • Improves patient care by reducing delays.

  • Ensures referrals are always recorded in the patient’s record.

Viewing Referral Details 

Once a referral has been sent, you can view the referral reason and details directly from the patient's record:
  1. Locate the journal entry and right click on "Community Referral for Awaiting Determination" 
  2. Select "View Details" 





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