Nurses ‘should be visible’ on wards

Hospitals in England are to be made to publish monthly details of whether they have enough nurses on their wards.

The measure is in response to the Francis Inquiry into failings at Stafford Hospital and wider cultural problems within the NHS.

Janet Davies, director of nursing at the Royal College of Nursing, told the Today programme's James Naughtie that nurses "should be visible on the wards" as much as possible.

She said: "We've got lots of evidence from across the world that the number of nurses on a ward significantly affects the outcome of patient care."

She called for an "approach to mandating staffing levels" as a result, and praised the report's recommendation to "reduce the bureaucratic burden on the ward sister and the qualified nurses".

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday 19 November 2013.