Why is it so difficult to get an appointment? Your nurse is the solution to improving access to your care!

If you have noticed that getting an appointment at your health centre is becoming increasingly difficult, you are not mistaken! There is an overload in the healthcare system that affects us all. But beware! The solution is not just to wait for more doctors to be hired. The key is to understand and make the most of the role of your family and community nurse so that care is faster and more accessible for you.

Your family and community nurse is not there to ‘take work away from anyone’, but to fully assume their responsibilities and become indispensable within a team that works side by side to improve the health of citizens. This professional and trusting collaboration is what will truly improve the flow of care and ensure that you receive the appropriate care from the professional best prepared for each situation.

Your nurse is your primary healthcare professional for all stages of life. They offer you comprehensive, decisive and patient-centred care.

1. Care in your home

Sometimes, going to the health centre is difficult. That is why your nurse is the essential professional who leads Home Care, ensuring that care reaches your home:

• Personalised Care: If you or a family member prefer to be at home (especially in the final stages of life), your nurse guarantees the quality of care in that environment, humanising the process and avoiding unnecessary travel.

• Joint Home Assessment: They will help make your home as safe and therapeutic as possible.

• Complex Case Management: They are the key to coordinating and monitoring patients with chronic illnesses who have disabilities and mobility issues.

2. Direct access

Did you know that you can go directly to the nursing consultation for many things? This gives you faster access!

• Direct Demand Management: Nurses are trained to independently attend to and resolve a large part of daily consultations, including early detection of diseases, complex treatments, or care for acute protocolised processes.

• Nurse Prescribing: Thanks to this competence, your nurse can prescribe, use or dispense certain medicines and healthcare products, which speeds up the resolution of your health problem without unnecessary delays.

Continuous care: The safety net you need

Your nurse provides you with a safety net that supports you when you need it most, from prevention to recovery.

• Informs you: Ask them about strategies aimed at: prevention of breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, sexually transmitted infections, gender violence, unwanted loneliness, violence at school, suicidal ideation, among others.
• Participates with you. Would you like to know more about yourself? Ask for information about the assessment of frailty, dependency, cognitive impairment and your family and social resources.
• When leaving the hospital: Have you been discharged? Your family and community nurse will call you for a follow-up or visit you after your discharge from hospital. This early contact has been shown to significantly reduce early hospital readmissions, giving you peace of mind and ensuring a safe transition home.
• Chronic condition management: If you live with a chronic condition (diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, chronic bronchitis, etc.), your nurse is directly responsible for monitoring and following up on its progress and your treatment. This includes a comprehensive assessment (physical, mental, social) and monitoring your adherence to treatment (ensuring you are following it correctly, resolving any queries).
• Promotion of healthy habits: Their main goal is to empower you to take primary responsibility for your own well-being. This is achieved through education on healthy habits (diet, exercise, sleep, hygiene), leading vaccination programmes and fall prevention, among other things.

Photo by Patty Brito on Unsplash

Learn how to take better care of yourself!

Family and community nurses not only heal, they also educate. They lead group health education programmes designed to help you take control of your well-being. They are a fantastic way to access care!

• Chronic Disease Management: Sign up for group self-care workshops (diabetes, hypertension, COPD) where you will learn to monitor your values and recognise warning signs.
• Promotion of Healthy Habits: Ask about support groups for quitting smoking, or guided walks that promote adapted physical activity.
• Daily Well-being: Attend sessions on sleep hygiene and community nutrition education to improve your rest and daily diet.
• Home Safety: There are fall prevention workshops specifically for older adults, which teach you balance exercises and how to adapt your home to reduce the risk of accidents.

In summary: Trust and collaboration are the way forward.

The crisis in primary care will only be overcome through mutual trust and collaborative work between all professionals.

When nursing and family medicine staff work in a coordinated manner, focusing on their respective areas of expertise, the accessibility and continuity of the care you receive is strengthened.

We encourage you to use the nursing consultation service and to trust in their care. By doing so, not only will you have access to high-quality care, but you will also be helping the entire team of healthcare professionals at your health centre to work better, faster and be more accessible to you and your whole family.

Authors:

Araceli Rivera Álvarez. Family and Community Nurse. CS Abrantes. Madrid.Communications spokesperson for FAECAP (Federación de Asociaciones de Enfermería Comunitaria y de Atención Primaria)

Pedro García Martínez. Family and community nurse. Lecturer at the Facultat d’Infermeria i Podologia de la Universidad de Valencia. Training spokesperson for FAECAP (Federación de Asociaciones de Enfermería Comunitaria y de Atención Primaria)

At OAFI, we support and defend the role of nursing. primary and community care to assist and improve people’s health and care.