High Patient Nurse Ratios

What are Nurse-Patient Ratios?

The nurse to client staffing ratio is determined by many things such as client acuity,
nurse skill level, qualifications of the nurse etc...and staffing is managed on a unit-
by-unit, day-by-day and shift-by-shift basis. There has been extensive research that
proves patient care& safety is directly related to inadequate staffing. Therefore,
poor nurse staffing levels pose a huge problem in healthcare today. (Hughes,
2008).

The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) recognizes that Nurse-

Patient Ratios are a means of enhancing patient safety and the well being of
nurses by addressing many ongoing problems related to heavy workloads,
workplace injuries, high turnover rates, absenteeism, and burnout among
nurses.

Canada is faced both with a serious nursing shortage, which will worsen over the
next few years. The shortage is exacerbated by the many things in turn, has led to
early retirement of experienced nurses, problems related to recruitment and
retention of new nurses, and concerns over patient safety.

A study by Shekelle recognized that a small percentage of hospitalized patients die

during or shortly after their hospitalization. This suggests that a proportion of these
deaths could have been prevented with more nursing care. The investigators
estimated that the difference between 4:1 and 8:1 nurse-to-patient staffing ratios
might be approximately 1,000 deaths.

How Does this Issue Impact the Healthcare System?

There are several ways high patient to nurse ratios impact the health care system.
It increases operating and labor costs this can be seen with
- Longer inpatient visits and Increased sick time for nurses
It decreases efficiency and effectiveness of care
It affects retention of nursing staff and the ability to recruit
new staff
Handout
So if nurses are short staffed they should be filling out this unsafe work
situation report, as it is apart of our duty to report staffing problems as it
compromises nurse and patient safety.
This duty includes identifying and reporting staffing problems, protecting the health, safety and rights of
the patients, preserving the nurse's own integrity and safety, refusing a patient care assignment based on
concerns for patient safety, and practicing with reasonable skill and safety.

What Measures Would be Useful to Evaluate the Effectiveness of

Change?

There are different ways we would be able to evaluate the effectiveness of

mandated nurse-pt ratios. Collecting data on nurse and patient outcomes
once mandated ratios are established would be a useful method.

This would show us an increase in

-Patient outcomes
Next the
-Usage of sick time
also we would see nurses are reporting a
-Decrease in Burnout
and increase in job satisfaction,
-seeing if there are fewer workplace injuries, medication errors, adverse
events
Good & Safe Work Environment