District nurses' triggers for referral of patients to the Macmillan nurse.

This study aimed to identify the triggers which motivate district nurses to refer patients to the Macmillan nursing service and resulted from observation within the researcher's clinical practice, when it was noted that referral patterns from district nurses to the Macmillan nursing service were very inconsistent. A qualitative exploratory descriptive design was utilised and the analysis of the findings identified three 'key' themes, which motivate district nurses to refer: knowledge and skills, interprofessional issues and perception of Macmillan. Within each theme emerged an amalgam of triggers which were complex in nature, pertaining not only to patient need, but also to the needs of the district nursing service. However, it became apparent during the analysis that there was also a lack of knowledge regarding the role of the Macmillan nurse. This lack of knowledge relating to the Macmillan nurse role had been affirmed previously by several authors (Graves and Nash 1993, Clark et al 2002, Ahmed et al 2004) but the literature also reported that the Macmillan nurse role was open to confusion (Clark et al 2002, Corner 2003). This confusion may potentially affect referrals and prevent patients from receiving the services of the Macmillan nurse. This study has established a need for the development of referral criteria into the Macmillan nursing service and that there is also an identified need for further research, providing scope for the Macmillan nurse and district nurse to work collaboratively to improve palliative services in the community.