Nursing shortages linked to higher risk of patient death, study finds

A new study has found that nursing shortages increase the risk of medical problems and mortality for patients.

In particular, the study highlighted that understaffing of nurses and nurse assistants was associated with a higher risk of complications in surgical settings, including infections and other negative post-surgical outcomes.

“The safety of patients undergoing surgery is paramount and there is rightly a considerable emphasis on appropriate systems, policies, and procedures,” Paul Meredith, lead author of the study and senior research fellow at the University of Southampton in the UK, said in a statement.

“This research is a timely reminder that workload is also a major driver of risk and that risks to surgical patients persist beyond the immediate operative period. Adequate nurse staffing on wards is vital to ensure the safety of patients undergoing and recovering from surgery”.

The researchers analysed surgical patient and staffing data from nearly 214,000 hospital admissions across four English National Health Service (NHS) institutions, covering the period from April 2015 to February 2020.

The findings were published in the British Journal of Surgery.

The study showed that shortages of registered nurses and nursing assistants increase the risk of hospital readmission by 2.3 per cent, while shortages in nursing assistants alone increased it by 1.4 per cent.

Understaffing was also linked to a 4.8 per cent increase in deep vein thrombosis (blood clots), a 5.7 per cent rise in pneumonia cases, and a 6.4 per cent increase in pressure ulcers, or bedsores, which are especially common for patients undergoing surgery.

Additionally, the risk of mortality increased by 9.2 per cent for each day there were not enough registered nurses and by 10.3 per cent for each day there were insufficient nursing assistants.

Increased shortages

In Europe, absences among healthcare workers increased by 62 per cent during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

It was also reported that as many as nine out of 10 nurses expressed an intention to quit their jobs during this time, with over 80 per cent of them reporting psychological distress.

Beyond the pandemic, nurses have also faced numerous challenges in their roles.

A 2021 employment survey conducted by the Royal College of Nursing revealed that 56.8 per cent of nurses were considering or planning to leave their positions.

The reasons varied, but the most common included feeling undervalued and experiencing excessive pressure.

Additionally, a report by the European Federation of Nurses Associations (EFN) highlighted that unsafe working conditions led nurses to reduce their working hours.

According to the report, nurses in Europe experienced various forms of violence, including verbal and physical attacks, as well as sexual harassment.

For instance, up to 30 per cent of nurses in countries like Denmark, Portugal, and the UK reported experiencing sexual harassment at work.

The violence was found to come not only from patients but also from patients’ families and other healthcare professionals, with up to 41 per cent of nurses reporting abuse from fellow healthcare workers.