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The Lancet medical journal suggests that employing more nurses can result in cost savings double the cost of employing the additional nurses. The study was conducted in Australia but may well have important implications for nursing in South Africa.
The study, conducted across 55 hospitals in Queensland, suggests that a recent state policy to introduce a minimum ratio of one nurse to four patients for day shifts has successfully improved patient care, with a 7% drop in the chance of death and readmission, and 3% reduction in length of stay for every one less patient a nurse has on their workload.
It is these reductions in readmissions and length of hospital stays that resulted in the cost savings.
A study conducted across 55 hospitals in Queensland suggests that a recent state policy to introduce a minimum ratio of one nurse to four patients for day shifts has successfully improved patient care, with a 7% drop in the chance of death and readmission and a 3% reduction in length of stay for every one less patient a nurse has on their workload. These reductions resulted in the cost savings.
The study compared 27 hospitals where the policy was implemented with 28 hospitals where it wasn’t.
“Despite some evidence that more nurses in hospitals could benefit patient safety, similar policies have not been widely implemented across the globe, partly due to an absence of data on the long-term effects and costs, as well as limited resources,” the study authors said.
South Africa - Durban -13 May 2021 - Management at St Augustine s Hospital in Durban said that healthcare workers arrived at the facility for the Covid-19 vaccine without having registered first, which has led to long queues inside and outside their vaccination centre. Picture: Bongani Mbatha/African News Agency(ANA)
Sisonke study ends: Health workers await advice on Phase 2 vaccinations
By Karen Singh
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DURBAN - AS SOUTH Africa starts Phase 2 of the Covid-19 vaccination rollout today, healthcare workers (HCWs) who were not vaccinated in the Sisonke Johnson & Johnson study await to hear from the government how they will be included in this next phase.