High Nurse Patient Ratios

Patient safety is a top priority of all nurses regardless of which specific environment they work in. High nurse to patient ratios are affecting patient care. Nurses are trying to provide high quality care to patients but need help from upper management to provide safe care. High nurse to patient ratios are creating massive hurdles for nurses to overcome in acute care settings. High nurse to patient ratios are linked to high mortality rates, increase in inpatient falls, increase in bedsores, and have higher rates of poor patient outcomes. This is a major concern that needs to be addressed by having Mandatory nurse-patient ratios to have better patient outcomes. High nurse to patient ratios cause nurses a lot of job dissatisfaction because they

A fall can results into extended stay in the hospital because it may result in head or internal bleeding, fractures, lacerations or a penetrating injury. Nurses are given the task to identify patients who are at increased risk of falling and modify their care based on that risk. Family members and patients rely on healthcare members to keep their loved ones safe and away from harm but because of high nurse to patient ratios, nurses are unable to provide safe care thus breaching that trust. Healthcare facilities have been trying to increase operational efficiency, cut costs and improve patient outcomes for decades using different quality improvement strategies (Andel, Davidow, Hollandar, & Moreno, 2012). At the moment consumer are dissatisfied with the healthcare system due to increased costs and low coverage being offered. According to recent reports, approximately 200, 000 American die from preventable medical errors and hospital acquired conditions (Andel et al.,

Pressure ulcers start to form when a patient who is bed bound and unable to care for him/herself. Nurses work in a high pressure environment everyday taking care of patients with complex medical problems and due to low staffing nurses try to prioritize patient care as best as they can. When nurse patient ratios are high nurses are unable to go every 2 hours in patient’s room to change their position and provide incontinent care. This is how patients are neglected and eventually develop Pressure ulcers. Pressure ulcers can be very costly to the hospital since Medicare and Medicaid will not reimburse the hospital. Pressure ulcer can cost upwards of $37,800 (Lyder & Ayello, 2008). Hospital acquired pressure ulcers are preventable if nurses have adequate staffing ratios. High nurse to patient ratios are also contributing to high mortality rates in the hospital. Nurses are supposed to act as a surveillance system in the hospital for patients, to be on a look out for any signs of deterioration and promptly intervene. The effectiveness of the nurse is highly influenced by the amount of patients the nurse is assigned on a given shift (Aiken, Clarke, Sloane, Sochalski, & Silber,