Written question asked by David Nicholson (Conservative), in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 10 March 1997. It was answered by Lord Horam (Conservative) on Monday, 10 March 1997 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: What data he has collated concerning the increase in the number of posts of (a) matron and (b) director of nursing services in NHS hospitals; what supervising duties such posts carry; and what guidance his Department has given regarding numbers, duties, or good practice as regards such posts. - Inc ref to "One Year On - The Nurse Executive Director Post" and "Sharpening the Focus: The roles and perceptions of nursing in NHS Trusts" (in Library). (Further information at 292 c1039-40W)

Answer: Mr. David Nicholson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data he has collated concerning the increase in the number of posts of (a) matron and (b) director of nursing services in NHS hospitals; what supervising duties such posts carry; and what guidance his Department has given regarding numbers, duties, or good practice as regards such posts. [18461] Mr. Horam: The responsibility for determining the most appropriate form of nurse management and advice lies with the individual national health service employer concerned. The National Health Service Trusts (Membership and Procedure) Regulations 1990 state that the executive directors of an NHS trust shall include a registered nurse or registered midwife, except in the case of a trust which does not provide services directly to patients or a trust whose principal function is to provide ambulance or patient transport services. The NHS executive has published two documents that identify the existing roles of trust nurse executive directors: "One year on--The Nurse Executive Director Post" and "Sharpening the Focus: The roles and perceptions of nursing in NHS Trusts". Copies are available in the Library.

Secondary information