Identifying the development needs of community matrons

To gain some insight into the needs of community matrons from both the practitioners' and managers' perspectives.

Focus groups with community matrons in different PCTs.

The focus groups identified that skills in physical assessment and prescribing were taken as prerequisites or essential to the role, and that the educational priorities were viewed as clinical education relating to the management of many long-term conditions linked to major causes of unplanned admissions. The preferred format for education appears to be work-based learning delivered by clinicians.

PCTs need to ensure that community matrons have their learning needs assessed and to put in place systems of work-based learning that allow for appropriate development. Although community matrons themselves may not initially see the value of non-clinical education, this will be vital to the long-term success of their role.