District Nurses
NHS England employs district nurses and health visitors to work from within the practice. The district nurse team has three care functions:
- First contact/acute assessments, diagnosis, care, treatment and referral.
- Continuing care, rehabilitation, chronic disease management and delivering NHS frameworks.
- Public health/health protection and promotion programmes that improve health and reduce inequalities.
The nurses work in partnership with patients, their relatives and other carers and with other members of the multi-disciplinary team.
District nurses are registered nurses who have completed a specialist course to provide a nursing service to people of all ages in the community - working as part of a team of health professionals.
The district nurse team is based at Bognor Hospital and can be contacted via ONE CALL Tel: 01903 254789 (select Option 4) between 7.00am to 7.00pm.
Health Visitors
Please see link below for all information regarding the Health Child Programme
www.sussexcommunity.nhs.uk/services/healthy-child-programme-hcp-health-visitors-and-school-nurses-0-19-service/528135
Community Midwife
The midwife can be contacted by leaving a message at either the Bognor Health Centre or the antenatal clinic at St Richard's Hospital (01243 788122 ext 2871), or via her mobile which can be provided by the surgery.
There is a clinic held every Thursday by appointment for newly referred pregnant women for their initial booking or for follow up appointments organised by the midwife.. This can also be done at home.
The role of the Community Midwife:
- To monitor the progress of a normal pregnancy and liaise wherever necessary with medical and obstetric colleagues
- To advise and support women and their families with pregnancy-related issues
- To promote a healthy lifestyle
- To offer support in labour
- To visit the newly delivered mother at home in the initial postnatal days to offer advice and support as she and her family adjust to having a new baby
All community midwives are based at St Richard's Hospital. They work in small teams and are attached to the local GP surgeries.
They actively promote choices in childbirth and aim to work with women and their families so they achieve, wherever feasible, the birth experience they want. They also encourage home birth and water birth.
Mental Health Support Worker
The role of the Mental Health Support Worker:
- To offer support to people newly diagnosed with any anxiety/depressive disorder
- To give people a greater understanding of what they can do to help themselves, whether using antidepressant medication or deciding to use other techniques such as relaxation and positive thinking
Counsellor
The counsellor works as part of the Primary Care team and offers patients an opportunity to talk through problems in a safe, non-judgemental environment. You can now refer yourself to the Time to Talk service by ringing 01243 812537.