Enhanced nursing - promoting self management and home care

One of the biggest ongoing challenges in primary care is how to look after vulnerable housebound patients properly.

In response, Harrow CCG has been piloting an enhanced nursing service which works alongside GP practices to help identify such individuals.The two-year pilot began in April 2015 when the CCG set aside specific funding for enhanced practice nurses. The aim was to provide patients with a more holistic package of care while GPs gain greater insight into patients’ circumstances and having more time to focus on the most pressing cases.

There are 32 enhanced practice nurses in the team, working in the local practices. The majority work part-time and are from a variety of backgrounds including practice nurses, ex-district nurses and some nurse specialists. It has a collective caseload of more than 700 patients with an average age of 82 years.