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Understaffing
of Registered Nurses is Dangerous
- Understaffing
of registered nurses is dangerous to patients. Mistakes, errors
and complications become more likely when nurses are asked to
take care of too many patients at once.
-
Understaffing of registered nurses is potentially fatal to patients.
This has been established by the New England Journal of Medicine,
the Journal of the American Medical Association, and other prestigious
medical publications.
- The
Journal of the American Medical Association reports that in a
study of 232,000 surgical patients, the higher the patient-to-nurse
ratio, the more likely there will be a death or serious complication.
-
Each additional patient above four that a nurse is caring
for produced a 7 percent increase in mortality. If a nurse
is caring for eight patients instead of four, there is a 31
percent increase in mortality.
-
A study of six million patients published in the New England Journal
of Medicine shows that patients without adequate nursing attention
are more likely to die or suffer serious complications. The fewer
patients per nurse, the better the medical outcomes.
-
Nurses on typical medical floors in Massachusetts are required
to care for eight, ten or more patients at a time. Most medical
professionals agree that nurses should not take care of more than
four or five patients at once.
The
Public Wants Safe Patient Care Ratios
- More
than 75 percent of Massachusetts residents support legislation
to regulate RN-to-patient ratios.
-
In just one week in May 2002, 80,000 Bay State residents signed
petitions supporting RN-to-patient ratios.
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83 percent of the public is alarmed by the recent release of the
Journal of the American Medical Association that in a study of
232,000 surgical patients the higher the patient to nurse ratio,
the more likely there will be a death or serious complications.
- Massachusetts
residents also overwhelmingly would back modest cost increases
if needed to implement safe staffing.
Ease
the Nursing Shortage
- Nurses,
burned out with high patient loads, are leaving the bedside.
- One
in three registered nurses under the age of thirty say they are
planning to leave nursing within the next year.
- Massachusetts
has more licensed RNs than any other state in the nation, so the
nursing crisis can be corrected easily once safe staffing ratios
are established.
- Only
48 percent of licensed RN’s are currently working at
the bedside
- Australia
saw a return of (or an immediate increase of) 3,500 nurses after
nurse-to-patient ratios were implemented.
The 1 Percent Solution
The
return on investment in nursing will be reflected both in cost savings
and in improvements in the safety and quality of care provided.
~
Health Care at the Crossroads: Strategies for Addressing
the Evolving Nursing Crisis Joint Commission on the Accredidation
of Health Care Organization (JCAHO)
Regulating
nursing levels in hospitals will only slightly increase health care
costs, and the public is willing to pay this slight increase.
-
Recent studies in California suggest that the average hospital
will experience a 1 percent annual increase in operating costs
if ratios are introduced.
- This
marginal increase is offset by:
- A
reduction in patient complications – which cost the
U.S. $4 billion annually.
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A decrease in medical errors.
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A decrease in turnover among nurses, which will save money
on training costs and the hiring of temporary nurses.
-
Because patients will receive better care, experience shorter
hospital visits and face fewer complications as a result of safe
RN-to-patient ratios, substantial health care dollars will be
saved.
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