The key driver for this study arose from two serious untoward incidents that occurred in a large district general hospital in the United Kingdom. Following investigation of both these events the Director of Nursing in post at that time believed that poor organisation and delivery of care may have been a contributory factor. This paper reports the findings on one phase of a multi-phase study and focuses upon the perceptions and experiences of the hospital staff around the organisation and delivery of patient-centred acute nursing care. Although we saw little evidence of multi-disciplinary approaches to care, it was evident that the issue which had the biggest impact upon both the organisation and delivery of care was staffing levels.