The impact of short staffing on qualityof care and safety of the patients Free Essay Example, 3000 words

Short staffing of the nurses occurs because of various factors (Rcn. org. uk, 2015). First, shortage of nursing graduates from various schools in the country leads to the shortfall of nurse personnel in various healthcare facilities. Increased investment in the healthcare sector by private and public organisation contributes to enhancing the scarcity of nurses in a country. The demand for nurses in United Kingdom supersedes the rate at which the learning institutions are producing nursing graduates (Rcn. org. uk, 2015). There is a significant rate of nurse care shortfall in various hospitals in the country. Secondly, brain drain contributes to the shortage of nurses in the United Kingdom. Most of the nurses acquire training in the country and move their practices to other countries such as United States, Canada and Australia (Waterson, 2014.). The level of staffing in different hospitals across the country is influenced by the government policies regarding the operations of the healthcare facilities. However, the organisational structures of various hospitals determ ine the level of staffing of the caregiver nurses (Bullock, Clark and Rycroft-Malone, 2012). Thirdly, the cost of hiring adequate nurses in a particular hospital influences the patient to nurse ratio. We will write a custom essay sample on The impact of short staffing on qualityof care and safety of the patients or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Most administrators evaluate the budgetary factors before implementing various initiatives of acquiring additional caregiver nurses at the hospital. Nursing staffing depends on the effectiveness of the administration in providing reliable and safe healthcare to the patient. The management of different hospital aspire to provide the public with appropriate care in order to promote the health of the society (Yarbro, Wujcik and Gobel, 2011). The direct correlation between nurses staffing and safety of the patients is an essential consideration of the majority of the managers in different healthcare facilities. Adequate staffing of the nurses in hospitals promotes the welfare and safety of the patients. Various patients’ care and treatment aspects are affected by inadequate staffing of the nurses. First, the safety of the nurses regarding their prescription is influenced by the absence of adequate nurses in a healthcare facility (Tingle and Bark, 2011). Nurses are responsible for ensuring the patients adhere to the prescription schedule provided by the doctors. In this case, inadequate caregiver nurses personnel might lead to skipping of medication by the patient, which risks their life (Nice. org. uk, 2014).