Lives under threat due to lack of registered nurses

Posted: March 15, 2016

Posted in: Medical Negligence 

Nurse to patient ratios have been the subject of research carried out by the University of Southampton and King’s College London. Dr Jane Ball from the University of Southampton, author of the research, has highlighted the importance of registered nurse levels caring for patients on the safety of patients. It was found in the study that patients being cared for by nurses caring for 6 patients or fewer have an increased chance of getting better than those whose nurses are caring for more. She identified that hospitals that rely more on lesser skilled healthcare support workers have higher rates of mortality. She said:

“Patients should not be asked to pay the price of receiving care from a less skilled and less educated members of staff, just to make up for the failure of the system to ensure enough registered nurses”.

Nurses caring for fewer than six patients have higher survival rate

This research has been published in a period when levels of registered nursing support are being brought into question. Encompassing 137 NHS Trust bodies, the extensive results have proven that nurses caring for six patients or fewer have a higher survival rate among patients than those coping with more than 10. As well as nurse to patient ratios, the study also researched the effect of doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers on patient mortality.

In an attempt to alleviate the strain on the service, Ministers have pledged to phase in new nursing workers who will require less training. The report, however, concluded that replacing registered nurses with lesser skilled healthcare assistants, would do nothing to improve the risk of patient mortality.

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