Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on introducing hourly ward rounds for nurses; how those rounds will be monitored and recorded; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect on staff time of such recording.

Hourly ward rounds (known as intentional rounding) are viewed as good practice but are not mandated. National Health Service organisations with their knowledge of the patients they serve are best placed to decide if hourly ward rounds should be implemented based on clinical need and sound evidence. Depending on their need, some patients may need more contact with nursing staff, while others may only require hourly or two-hourly checks.

Since April 2014, under its new inspection methodology, the Care Quality Commission’s monitoring of hospitals consists of a range of systemic indicators, including the monitoring of hourly ward rounds during inspections to ensure that these are being undertaken.