Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry Spacer image Spacer image

Primary Care Route: long-term care


Aimed at experienced nurses wishing to take on a community matron or case manager role.

Currently there are over 17 million people living with a long term condition in the UK, which has led the government to set National Service Agreement targets to improve outcomes for people with long term conditions. Emergency bed days are to be reduced by 5% by 2008 through improved care in primary and community settings. To meet the challenge of these targets the Chief Nursing Officer announced the introduction of community matrons / case managers, and the Long-term Conditions National Service Framework was published in 2005 with the aim of transforming the way health and social care services support people living with long term conditions. The government have set a target of 3000 community matrons in England and Wales which will result in each Primary Care Trust needing to have 20 – 25 community matrons if government targets are to be met.

Competences have been developed for the new role of community matrons / case managers, although it has been recognised that it may be necessary to appoint nurses into these new roles without the full set of competencies. However, it has been recommended that employers need to commission learning programmes from Health Education Institutes so that the practitioners can achieve the competencies. To facilitate the introduction of this newly identified workforce it will be necessary to provide an educational programme at a suitable level for advanced practitioners and ensure that the components of the programme reflect the NHS drivers around long term conditions. Although this is a new market there are also existing roles, such as practice nurses and GP’s within the community that provide care and require education around long term conditions. The need for the development of an educational programme to meet the long term condition agenda has been requested by PCT educational leads.  


Route Aims

The aims of the programme are to prepare and equip primary care practitioners for clinical roles in providing health and social care support for people living with long term conditions.

The programme will support the acquisition of clinical skills and knowledge, provide critical insight into primary care policy structures and processes and develop primary care orientated leadership skills.


Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

  • Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate changes in health care delivery within the context of the philosophy & politics of primary health care.
  • Provide leadership and organisation for the assessment and health-related needs of patients, their families and other carers and identify and initiate appropriate interventions for individuals and groups.

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Cognitive/intellectual

  • Acquire and utilise assessment skills and knowledge to influence health and social care outcomes. 
  • Demonstrate the ability to analyse and synthesise clinical evidence, data and research findings

Subject Specific

  • Develop skills and knowledge to support effective case management for people living with long term conditions.

Transferable

  • Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate the most effective way of promoting an interprofessional approach to care within primary care.
  • Develop and utilise leadership skills to manage change within the primary health care setting. 


Core Modules


Option Modules

  • Clinical Effectiveness
  • Communicable Diseases
  • Extended Nurse Prescribing
  • Foundations of Palliative Care
  • Health Promotion
  • International Perspectives of Health and Social Care
  • Social & Public Health Improvement