In Minnesota, nurses recently engaged in the nation's largest nursing strike in history. At stake, were patient safety standards established by reasonable nurse-to-patient ratios that would have more nurses ready to ensure safe and effective care to patients who depend on them for their very lives and well-being.
Patient acuity refers to the ratio of nurses to patients, and the striking nurses resisted the Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) in its desire for hospitals to have flexibility in nurse-to-patient staffing to save millions of dollars. The MHA also asserted that lower nurse-to-patient ratios have not been shown to improve patient care. The nurses maintained that the MHA wants hospitals to be able to shift nurses from one specialized unit to another regardless of a nurse's experience or credentials in that medical specialty. If a nurse is not skilled in technical monitoring, for instance, the patient under that nurse's care is exposed to an increased chance for medical error. A nurse unaccustomed to or not well-trained in emergency care may also increase the chance for ER mistakes.
Minnesota nurses have cited studies from California indicating that a 1:5 ratio has reduced patient and family complaints, and that there are fewer missed changes in patient conditions. California nurses have also reported fewer cases of burnout.
In 2007, Illinois passed the Nurse Staffing by Patient Acuity Act, which required each licensed hospital to implement a staffing plan that considered patient care needs with registered nursing expertise based upon each hospital's nursing care committees. The benefits of the law have not yet been shown.
Hospitals are strapped for funds, and these measures requiring hospitals to staff more nurses may only serve to drive up patient costs. But the cost of medical care needs to be balanced against patient safety and the costs that may accrue from poor or negligent care resulting from over-worked or untrained nurses who are ill-equipped or inexperienced in a particular specialty that requires specialized care or attention.
Minnesota nurses recently ratified a contract with the local hospitals that cedes the demand for patient acuity standards in favor of continued discussions in hospital committees. The Minnesota nursing strike has highlighted the delicate balancing act that states, hospitals, nurses and other medical professionals must consider if they are to provide competent and lifesaving care to patients. It may be too much to ask of nurses to care for multiple patients while trying to master the standards of multiple specialties in the areas they are assigned to work.
If you were harmed by a medical mistake at a hospital or ER, such as misdiagnosis, prescription error, or failure to diagnose, contact an experienced medical malpractice lawyer for more information about your options.
