Health Visitors and Nurses

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Health – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 27 November 2012.

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Photo of Jeremy Hunt Jeremy Hunt The Secretary of State for Health 11:30, 27 November 2012

I absolutely agree with the hon. Lady that nowhere in the NHS should allow low staff numbers to lead to poor care. What was interesting about the CQC report, which was a wake-up call for the whole NHS, was that institutions under financial pressure, as the whole NHS is, are delivering excellent care in some places and delivering care that is unsatisfactory and not good enough in other places. On her specific question about nurses and nurse numbers, it is important to recognise that across the NHS as a whole the nurse-to-bed ratio has increased. Every NHS bed is getting an extra two hours of care per week compared with the situation two years ago.