Who we are
The Community Nursing Service provides high quality, person-centred care and treatment for people in their own homes, residential homes, and local community clinics.
We support adults (18 years and over) living in Wirral who are registered with a Wirral GP, housebound and need nursing care at home. Our aim is to provide accessible and equal care for everyone.
We will work with you and your family to help manage your current health condition(s) as much as possible. This may include advice and signposting to local services and support. We aim to help you stay well at home, avoid unnecessary trips to hospital, and return home safely if you have been an inpatient.
Our service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We provide both planned and urgent care.
Our teams include nurses, nursing associates, health care assistants, and student nurses, all supported by team leaders. We work together, day and night, to make sure you get the right care at the right time.
Who can use the Community Nursing Service?
The service is for people who are housebound.
Housebound means:
- You are not able to leave your home at all because of illness, disability, or other health problems.
- You need a lot of support to leave the house due to illness, frailty, recovery from surgery, or if you are nearing the end of life.
Who is not housebound?
- If you are able to leave your home with some help (eg attending appointments, visiting the shops, hairdresser appointments, or social activities), you are not considered housebound.
- Not having transport is not a reason for a home visit.
Please remember: Sometimes there may be exceptions. Your community nursing team will look at your personal situation and decide what support is best for you.
What to expect
When you first meet the community nursing team, we will:
- Carry out an initial assessment of your current health needs – this will include a brief chat about your current medication(s), and any equipment that you use, dressings, creams / lotions. We will also decide together what support is right for you – if another service would be more suitable, we will let you know.
- Work with you and those who support you to help you stay as independent as possible.
- Signpost you to additional support eg health or social care agencies or other local community services. We will always ask your permission before sharing your details.
- Provide you with a personalised folder containing useful contact information, advice, and support. This can also be shared with your family, carers, or other professionals involved in
your care. - When you are ready to be discharged, we will discuss this with you (and your carer or relative if appropriate) to ensure that you are fully involved.
What we ask from you
To help us give you the best care, we kindly ask that you:
- Have your medicines and equipment ready when we visit. This includes things like dressings, creams, or any equipment you use.
- Be at home for your visit. If you know you won’t be in, please let us know as soon as possible so we can rearrange. Missed visits may delay your care and the care of others. Missed appointments with our clinical teams cost our Trust, so we ask patients to let us know as soon
as possible if they cannot attend a booked appointment. - Understand that visit times may vary. Because of high demand, we may not always be able to offer exact days or times. Visits are planned based on clinical need, and we appreciate your patience.
- Help us provide care safely. Please do not smoke / vape while we are visiting and kindly keep pets in another room until the nurse has finished.
- Work with us on your care plan. The treatment and advice we agree together will help you get the best possible results, while always respecting your choices.
Our nurses will always arrive in an NHS uniform and carry and identification badge. We are here to provide safe, kind and professional care to support you at home.
We also ask for respect in return. Verbal or physical abuse will not be tolerated. If staff feel unsafe, they may need to leave, which could affect your care.
Download the PDF leaflet
If you would like this information in another format or language, you can translate the page content using the ‘translations’ button at the bottom of the page. You can also contact the Your Experience Team on freephone 0800 694 5530. Alternatively you can email [email protected]
