Developing the future district nursing workforce

District nursing is key to supporting and caring for individuals and their families within their homes, and avoiding unnecessary hospital admission. This is reflected in the policies of the four countries of the UK. In Scotland, the district nurse is a core member of the integrated community nursing team (Chief Nursing Officer Directorate, 2017). The career pathway for District Nurses in Northern Ireland (NIPEC, 2022) sets out the requirements for district nursing (DN) teams to support the delivery of person- and family-centred care that is safe, effective and of high quality. The value of the DN team, as part of multi-professional teams in primary care, is set out in the Welsh National Community Nursing Specification (Strategic Programme for Primary Care, 2022). Recognition of the contribution of district nurses is also reflected in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (NHS England, 2023), which has set out a 150% increase in district nurse training by 2031/32. This is during a time when the King's Fund has reported that community nursing is in a ‘cycle of invisibility’, where they can be overlooked and can be difficult to evaluate (Baird et al, 2024).