This project set out to explore the costs and consequences of variations in nurse staffing levels in acute hospital wards in NHS hospitals. We used routine hospital data from one large NHS hospital trust to see whether the ability of the nursing team to monitor patients and prevent deterioration was reduced on days of lower staffing. We also explored the cost effectiveness of different staff groups in the nursing team. We found that higher numbers of registered nurses in the workforce were linked to fewer missed opportunities to prevent deterioration and a a lower risk of death. While registered nurses appeared to be cost effective in preventing death, increases in the number of support staff was not.
The results of this study are part of an important body of work that demonstrate the likely consequences of nurse staffing shortages. They also show that there are no 'quick fixes' by employing lesser trained staff whose contribution, while important, is not able to replace registered nurses in maintaining patient safety in modern NHS hospital wards.
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Professor Mandy Fader RN, PhD
Bladder or bowel leakage will affect more than 1 in 6 people in their lifetime and my research aims to help them lead their lives with confidence and dignity. Innovations in product development need to bring in new materials and new designs to create clothing and devices that look good and feel good.
I work with patients, microbiologists, engineers and designers to understand the limitations and problems of current products, analyse the needs of different users and create new ways of managing incontinence and new products that people can trust.
Nowadays there are many new and effective treatments for incontinence but when interventions don't work, or for those who cannot benefit from them, better products are needed.
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Professor Peter Griffiths PhD, BA, RN, FEANS, FHEA
Peter Griffiths is Chair of Health Services Research and lead for the Health Workforce and Systems (Health Work) research group. He also leads the Health Workforce and Systems them in the National Institute for Health Research’s Applied Research Centre (ARC) Wessex.
His research focusses on the healthcare workforce, and in particular safe and effective nurse staffing. In 2017 he was appointed as a senior investigator for the National Institute for Health Research, a title which recognises the most prominent and prestigious researchers funded by the NIHR and the most outstanding leaders of patient and people-based research within the NIHR Faculty.
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