VISITS by senior nurses and midwives to talk with patients at Okehampton and Moretonhampstead community hospitals are having 'a positive and reassuring effect', seven months after being introduced.

The matron walkrounds were first used by the Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust, which manages the hospitals, in July 2012.

The system is in line with the 'six Cs' set out by England's chief nursing officer Jane Cummings; care, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment.

It means each ward at the trust's 18 hospitals across Devon is checked regularly by senior nurses.

These include director of nursing Carolyn Mills, assistant directors of nursing Bev Cox and Tina Naldrett and head of midwifery Toby Cooper.

On each visit, they speak to patients and staff at random and collate the feedback, which helps to identify trends where further improvements could be made.

Tina Naldrett, who oversees the trust's nurses in Okehampton and Moretonhampstead, said: 'Seven months on, it is clear the matron walkrounds have had a very positive and reassuring effect on patients.

'Patients appreciate the presence and visibility of a senior nurse and the opportunity to tell them in "live" time about their care, which we can act on immediately.

'The walkrounds have also shown to be very valuable for staff, who know they will have senior nurses present and available on a regular basis, while the matrons themselves have welcomed the opportunity to visit each others' wards and share best practice.

'This powerful project supports our commitment to providing safe, dignified and compassionate care of the highest standard, and to listening closely to patients and placing them at their heart of their care.'