Referral criteria: making the district nursing service visible

The development of referral criteria has been seen as one of the keys to the proactive enhancement of the district nursing service to ensure equity and efficiency of service provision (Audit Commission, 1999). Referral criteria specify what constitutes an appropriate district nursing referral and who is the best person or service to undertake the care if it is not. With the continued focus of shifting the balance of care away from the hospital and into the community and a historically reactive rather than proactive work force, district nurses in Lothian, Scotland developed referral criteria for the service. This article discusses the drivers for the development of these criteria, how they were developed, and the anticipated difference implementation of the criteria would make to district nursing.