Report and photo: Pat Ireland

"In late August we were fortunate to have two lady speakers, the West Lancashire Community Matrons, Louise Walker and Karen Staniforth.

This was an excellent and well attended meeting. This service is operated under the auspices of Virgincare NHS and there are three Matrons in the West Lancashire area, each covering a distinct district: community matrons are senior nurses with advanced health assessment/prescribing skills, who support people with long term conditions or a range of complex conditions in their own home.

The aim is to help support people to improve their quality of life. One does not need to be house-bound to be eligible for help from a Community Matron.

They undertake assessments focusing on a patient's health care history, carry out physical examinations and develop a care plan, based on individual needs, and will support patients through periods of acute and chronic illness to help prevent avoidable emergency hospital admissions; educate and support patients to become experts in recognising and managing their symptoms, provide medication advice and support and act as a single point of contact to coordinate care and signpost to other relevant services as required.

Louise and Karen advised members not to hesitate to contact the Community Matron team, if they have any queries regarding their health, medicines or conditions. However, they stressed they are not an Emergency Service and are not to be regarded as a substitute for one's GP.

Referral to the Community Matron Service can be from your GP, but West Lancashire patients can also self-refer, by phoning direct on 0300 247 0011. (A similar service exists in Sefton, operated by Lancashire Care, but there is no self-referral system available in Sefton)

Their talk was very interesting and we are very grateful that they kindly gave up valuable time to visit us.

A number of members stayed behind for two hours, to help with research by Dr. Alton and his team, who are researching to produce a Chest Sentinel Device. Dr. Alton has since let us know that our members' contributions were most valuable to him and his team.


The next meeting of the group will be Monday 16th September, starting at 11 a.m. at the Girl Guide HQ., Green Lane, Ormskirk, L39 1ND, next door to Ormskirk Rugby Club. Anyone with respiratory problems, their family members, carers or friends, are most welcome to attend. Our speaker will be Melanie Reardon, Specialist Physiotherapist from the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Clinic at Ormskirk Hospital. Free parking is available close by."