The term ‘named nursing’ was introduced in the UK more than 25 years ago but it has re-emerged recently in the light of recommendations made in the Francis report on the poor standards of care at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. The original definition of named nurse by the Department of Health was someone that a patient could identify as responsible for their care from hospital admission to discharge. It was largely practised in the UK exclusively but there are now various accounts of its use throughout Europe, particularly Scandinavia, and North America.

This article provides an overview of the named nursing concept. It provides recommendations for implementation of a named nursing system in nursing home settings, because most previous recommendations have referred to acute hospitals.