nurse : patient ratio

World UK

Published

With all the problems highlighted by the media scrutinising the nhs and its workers, staffing levels keeps coming up with no resolution or response from hospitals.

I am wondering what each of your current work areas staffing ratio is of nurse : patient and nurse : hca.

As a bank nurse I see a lot of areas and am shocked by the variance and how unsafe I feel at times.

COTE 24 beds ward early rn 1-8 hca 1-8 , late 1-8 or 1-12 with 1-2 hca so we had 4 staff night 1-12 2rn 2hca

neurosurg days 12.5 hours 4-5 staff rn for 25 pt if 5 charge take no pt. 1-4 1-7, 2-3 hca, nights 3 rn so 1-8/9 with 2 hca

Specializes in surgical.

On my general surgical ward it was 28 beds with 1 nurse to 8-10 patients. There should have been a co-ordinator on with three nurses. Most times it was just three nurses with the nurse that had 8 patients co-ordinating. Nights are 14 patients to 1 nurse and one HCA at night. Two or if very lucky 3 HCAs in the morning. It is a very heavy ward with lots of post HDU patients.

We need mandatory staffing ratios but the government knows it will cost too much so will fight to stop it coming in.

Specializes in Critical Care/NICU.

I work in a nicu and nurse to baby ratio can be anything from 1:2-4. This can include a vent, 2 CPAP and a nbm. My last shift I had a vent and a cpap then my cpap ended up ventilated. This can be really hard sometimes cause one always end up not getting loads if attention because you are busy with a another sick baby. We don't have support workers to helps us because they are not allowed to work in the intensive care area ( this is a trust thing).

I do think that something needs to be done regarding the nurse patient ratio. Nurses and doctors have been slated in the press recently. My husband was admitted in to hospital recently and you hardly seen the nurse cause they were busy with confused or sick patients. I had to go and find a nurse to make sure he got his drugs. I went in to visit one afternoon and the iv was tracking up his arm and my husband was in extreme pain there was no one around to get to stop the iv. The problem with the NHS is you have high management making ward decisions but are hardly ever in a ward situation.

The hospital gets inspected for all thing like staffing levels but they inform the hospital what day they are coming so shifts are made to be well staffed.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Interesting how the BBC has been posting a few news articles siting that nurse numbers should be open for the public to see and even be ratio to number of patients

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24124526

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24141825

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