PM Unveils New Plans For Nurses On NHS Wards

Nurses will be told to undertake hourly hospital ward rounds under new plans to be unveiled by Prime Minister David Cameron.
It follows a report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which found concerns over food and drink provisions for patients in wards.
The proposals will also see members of the public leading inspections of hospitals, to provide an independent assessment of cleanliness and treatment of patients.
Mr Cameron said most patients were happy with NHS care but there was a "real problem" in some hospitals with people not getting food and drink or being treated with respect.
He said the Government was going to "put right" the problem after the CQC found issues with dignity and respect in hospitals up and down the country.
Mr Cameron is pledging to strip away "stifling bureaucracy" and allow nurses to focus on what they do best, adding that the whole approach to caring in this country needs to be reset.
He also emphasised the need for leadership on wards, saying people wanted to see a figure of authority, whether they were called matron, ward sister or team leader.
In October, the CQC found a fifth of NHS hospitals are breaking the law on care of the elderly.
Its study also found half of hospitals are failing to provide all-round good nutrition to elderly patients while 40% do not offer dignified care.
Of 100 hospitals investigated in England, 49 were found to generate minor, moderate or major concerns about nutritional standards for elderly people.
The Prime Minister's announcement is intended to mean nurses can focus on "patients not paperwork" while all hospitals will be expected to implement regular ward rounds "to systematically and routinely check that patients are comfortable, are properly fed and hydrated".
A new Nursing Quality Forum of frontline nurses and nursing leaders will be tasked with promoting excellent care and ensuring good practice across the NHS.
Patients will also lead inspections of hospital wards, with local people becoming part of teams assessing cleanliness, dignity and nutrition.
The results will be published and hospital leaders who fail the test will be held to account.
Mr Cameron said: "If we want dignity and respect, we need to focus on nurses and the care they deliver.
"Somewhere in the last decade the health system has conspired to undermine one of this country's greatest professions. It's not one problem in particular. It's the stifling bureaucracy. The lack
of consequence for failing to treat people with dignity."