What is the Outreach Nursing Service?
Our Outreach nursing service supports general practice to reach vulnerable patients, enabling them to live their healthiest lives. Māori, Pacific, and those in lower socio-economic groups have the worst health outcomes - the Outreach Nursing Service can help you address these inequities. Outreach nurses follow-up patients where usual recall measures have failed, deliver appropriately timed screening and support self-management. Outreach is an important tool to improve health outcomes.
How do Outreach Nurses help Primary Care?
There are many reasons why patients miss screening appointments. These range from accessibility and availability to awareness of services, personal circumstances or negative perceptions. Outreach Nurses work with communities to build relationships. They can be a bridge between general practice and the patient, supporting the person to re-engage.
The Outreach service is also flexible. Some appointments are short, one-off visits to follow-up a smear, or nurses may be involved for longer, where there are multiple health concerns and help is needed for them to engage with general practice. Nurses will ask about the health of the whole whānau and have time to listen
The role of an Outreach Nurse is varied and responsive – the team needs to think on their feet and draw on their connections. In this way, the Outreach Nurses are an additional resource for the general practice team.
When should a practice contact the Outreach Nursing Service?
The Outreach Nursing Service is for Māori, Pacific and those in lower socio-economic groups (quintile 5). We contact patients who haven’t responded to previous calls and recall attempts from the practice and those who have missed appointments. Outreach Nursing is a holistic service – a routine screening might be the primary reason for the referral, but we are there to support overall wellbeing and health.
Referrals: Via ERMS
To discuss how Outreach Nursing Service can work with you, email outreach@wellsouth.org.nz