The District Nurse is the person who decides whether to make a request for a Marie Curie Nurse.
You are entitled to contact a District Nurse.
Your GP surgery can tell you who your local District Nurse is and how to contact them.
In a few cases - for instance, if the patient is being discharged from a hospice or hospital – it may be another specialist nurse who coordinates home care.
Contact the District Nurse
Do tell the District Nurse what support you need or are hoping for. If the District Nurse does not mention the Marie Curie Nursing Service, mention it yourself and ask whether it would be appropriate to request a Marie Curie Nurse.
The District Nurse makes the final decision about whether to request the Marie Curie Nursing Service and how much care to ask for.
What the District Nurse will do
The District Nurse will carry out an assessment of the patient's nursing and other needs, and will decide in consultation with the patient and family what support is required.
If a Marie Curie Nurse is appropriate, the District Nurse will decide what periods of care or shifts are needed. They will also decide whether to request a Marie Curie Registered Nurse or Marie Curie Healthcare Assistant, depending on the patient's nursing needs and the availability of other services.
The District Nurse will review the patient's care at intervals and decide whether to increase or decrease the amount of care requested, depending on the patient's condition.
Sometimes they may discontinue the Marie Curie Nursing Service if, for example, the patient's condition improves.
The District Nurse will supply equipment if it is needed for the patient's care at home.
When someone is ill and living at home, their medical care is the responsibility of their local GP.
The District Nurse's responsibilities
If they need nursing care it is the responsibility of the District Nurse to organise the care and services they need.
The District Nurse is the healthcare professional who can best advise on the nursing and other needs of the patient and family.
The Marie Curie Nursing Service complements the District Nursing Service by offering one-to-one specialised nursing that may be needed for the patient's condition.
We do our utmost to fulfil every request for a nurse. However, there may be occasions when no Marie Curie Nurse is available for a requested shift in a specific location. We will try to offer a different shift to the District Nurse if we have a nurse available.
The District Nurse is best placed to know whether this would be suitable, and may discuss this with you.
The District Nurse knows what other services are being used, and can best decide how to coordinate the Marie Curie Nursing Service with other available services.
More information about Marie Curie Nurses
Click here to visit the main Marie Curie Cancer Care website for more information about how to get a Marie Curie Nurse.
