NHS reform: David Cameron defends nurses 'care assistant' plan

Prime Minister David Cameron has defended plans to get trainee nurses to first work as health care assistants to improve patient care, after nurses' leaders branded the proposal as "stupid".

Mr Cameron acknowledged that the proposals were controversial but said the NHS needed to focus on the level of care it provided.

The RCN has called for minimum staffing levels to be set, echoing a move by Unison last week.