NHS hospitals face radical shakeup David Cameron announced the changes to NHS care practices during a visit to Blackpool Victoria Hospital on Friday. Nurses will perform hourly rounds, every ward will have a matron and the public will be able to inspect hospitals in an attempt to drive out poor care and keep patients happy, the prime minister has announced. David Cameron unveiled the changes in response to a series of reports which heavily criticised NHS care, including uncaring behaviour by nurses. The changes would "reset" the approach to caring for patients and bring back old-fashioned nursing standards, he said during high-profile visits to Salford Royal and Blackpool Victoria. The coalition is determined to tackle problems after the Care Quality Commission (CQC), England's NHS watchdog, the health service ombudsman and Patients Association all recently highlighted poor care, especially of older patients. Failings in nutrition, dignity and other elements of basic nursing care have prompted concern that some nurses have become too busy or detached from patients. Cameron said: "I think the standard is very high ... but in a limited number of cases standards have fallen below what is acceptable, we have seen that in CQC reports, we have seen it with our own experiences as constituency MPs, elderly relatives not getting the care they need. And so what we need to do is make sure that doesn't happen. Cameron wants every ward to have a matron, sister or team leader to whom patients can raise concerns. In addition nurses will make hourly rounds to ensure that patients feel well looked-after. He announced the initiative at Salford Royal, which already has hourly nurse rounds, and praised the hospital's "absolutely excellent record" in nursing care. "Here in Salford we are getting hourly nursing rounds where patients are asked every hour about whether there are any problems, making sure we have patient-led inspections of hospitals, making sure we have simple service where we ask patients and staff, 'Would you be happy for your relatives to be treated in this hospital?'," the prime minister added. There will also be new patient-led inspections, in which local people are sent into hospitals to examine standards of cleanliness, food, privacy and dignity. A "friends and family" test, in which patients, carers and staff will be asked if they would recommend a hospital, will be introduced. Results of the inspections and test will be published, with hospital chiefs held to account. Sally Hulmes, a matron on an acute medical ward said the prime minister's announcement would benefit care. The patients benefit from seeing the nursing staff and having the confidence that there is a nurse looking after them, and the relatives are assured as well. "It's about how you manage your workload, there's always going to be staff shortages but the fact we're with the patient reduces some of the workload because we're with them all the time," said Hulmes. In October, the CQC found a fifth of NHS hospitals were breaking the law on care of the elderly. Its study also found half of hospitals were failing to provide all-round good nutrition to elderly patients while 40% did not offer dignified care. Hospital doctors welcomed greater focus on patient care, including improving ward rounds. "Nurse leadership must be improved and the status of ward sisters should be bolstered, particularly on elderly care wards," said Dr Linda Patterson, clinical vice-president of the Royal College of Physicians. "Nurses should be given the status, authority, remuneration, development, and protected time to act as local guardians and leaders of standards and care," she added. But the college, in tandem with the Royal College of Nursing, also wants to see agreement on the minimum number of staff needed on every ward.