Intentional rounding

Intentional rounding, presented as a strategy that puts the patient at the centre of ward activity, requires nurses to undertake regular and standardised checks on individual patients at set intervals to assess and manage their fundamental care needs. It is a ‘package of interventions’, a political intrusion to provide a simple solution to a multifaceted problem. It is an organisational initiative that does nothing more than to tell nurses when and how to interact with the people they offer care and support to, and above all it is an absolute insult to nurses the world over.

The Francis Report (2013) considered masses of evidence regarding the reasons for failures in patient care that occurred at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust between 2005 and 2009. One of 290 recommendations for improvement was that ‘regular interaction and engagement between nurses and patients and those close to them should be systematised through regular ward rounds’ and thus intentional rounding, a phrase that is synonymous with regular ward rounds, was introduced in almost all trusts in England as part of a larger quality-improvement initiative.