The named nurse in the coronary care setting

The concept of the 'named nurse' was first raised by 'The Patient's Charter' in 1991 and officially implemented in April 1992. The charter stated that there would be 'a named qualified nurse, midwife or health visitor responsible for each patient'. Like many other initiatives, the named nurse concept was implemented almost overnight without any apparent evaluation of people's perceptions of the idea. Even after it had been in use for several months, there was little evidence to suggest that nurses fully understood it - a fact that prompted this research.