A new initiative launched by NHS Scotland will give nurses more time to spend providing care directly to patients.

Dubbed Releasing Time to Care, the strategy is already in place at eight health boards according to the Nursing Times and was launched this week at a cardiac ward in Hairmyres Hospital, Lanarkshire by Scottish health secretary Nicola Sturgeon. After its successful trial at Hairmyres and the other boards, it is to be rolled out across the NHS in Scotland.

The new policy will see some changes to the role of both nurses and that of a nurse manager. Jobs such as locating equipment, medicine storage and other logistical tasks have been the focus of attempts to improve efficiency based on the experiences of patients and staff in wards. By improving the environment of the wards, nurses should be able to spend more time on treating patients than on such tasks; general paperwork and other duties may be allocated to managers depending on the situation.

The Scotsman reports that the hospitals which implemented the scheme as part of the pilot trials have seen an increase of up to 40% in the amount of time that nurses are involved in direct patient care. According to The Nursing Times, Hairmyres Hospital itself has released an extra 8,776 hours for patient care, cutting staff sickness rates by 3.9% and reduced the average length of time patients spend in the ward.

"This programme is improving patient and staff experience," said Ms Sturgeon, "as well as efficiency and productivity."