Patients in Intensive Care have a better chance of survival if there are more doctors and nurses working on the unit, new research shows.
The study, led by the University of Greenwich, also shows that the survival of the most severely ill patients is most affected when there are insufficient nurses.
Researchers have been able to separate out staffing levels from other factors, such as workload and how ill patients are, for the first time after examining nearly 40,000 patient records and data from 65 ICUs in the UK.
Professor Elizabeth West, who led the research, says: "This is timely because the public are concerned about the ability of the NHS to provide safe and compassionate care. Recent catastrophic failures such as events at Mid-Staffordshire have highlighted the importance of staffing levels to patient survival, and this study has reinforced that message."
This is the first study of patient survival in ICUs to look at the numbers of doctors as well as nurses. Professor West says that doctors and nurses work closely together and function as a team on ICUs more than on other wards: "Future studies need to see the whole picture and examine how the multi-disciplinary team works together." It is also the first study to show that there is a sub-group of patients – those who are the most severely ill – who are most affected by low levels of nurse staffing.
She believes the new evidence will be essential to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) when it draws up guidance on safe staffing levels later this year.
Explore further: Study links nurses' workload and education to patients' survival after surgery
Provided by University of Greenwich
Medical Xpress on facebook
Related Stories
Study links nurses' workload and education to patients' survival after surgery
Feb 25, 2014
Patients are more likely to die after common surgical procedures when they are cared for in hospitals with heavier nurse workloads and fewer nurses with bachelor's degrees, concludes the largest investigation of nursing and ...
Most ward nurses say time pressures force them to 'ration' care
Jul 29, 2013
Most ward nurses say they are forced to ration care, and not do or complete certain aspects of it—including adequate monitoring of patients—because they don't have enough time, indicates research published online in BMJ Qu ...
More nurses for hospital patients: Impact on quality questionable
Sep 12, 2012
Passage of a bill in 1999 requiring minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in California hospitals increased the number of nurses but resulted in mixed quality of care, according to a new study in the journal Health Se ...
Doctors raise blood pressure in patients
Mar 25, 2014
Doctors routinely record blood pressure levels that are significantly higher than levels recorded by nurses, the first thorough analysis of scientific data has revealed.
Nighttime intensivist staffing and mortality in the ICU
May 21, 2012
Nighttime intensivist physician staffing in intensive care units (ICUs) with a low-intensity daytime staffing model is associated with reduced mortality, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Me ...
Recommended for you
Tobacco promotions still reaching youth
9 minutes ago
Teens and young adults who are exposed to marketing materials for tobacco products, such as coupons and websites, were far more likely to begin smoking or to be current smokers than those not exposed, finds ...
Eyes in the aisles: Why is Cap'n Crunch looking down at my child?
1 hour ago
Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids! In a study of 65 cereals in 10 different grocery stores, Cornell researchers found that cereals marketed to kids are placed half as high on supermarket shelves as adult ...
British adults want to cycle more but feel unable to make the final move
2 hours ago
An in depth study of British adults' attitudes to cycling over the last four years has found that a large number want to cycle more for everyday short journeys but feel unable to do so – with a major factor ...
Obama signs temporary Medicare fix bill for docs
5 hours ago
President Barack Obama has signed into law a bill giving doctors temporary relief from a flawed Medicare payment formula that threatened them with a 24 percent cut in their fees.
Obama cheers seven million health care sign ups
5 hours ago
President Barack Obama Tuesday cheered seven million people who bought into his health care law and lashed out at political foes who were "mad" that more Americans could get insured.
Record number of older adults completing living wills
9 hours ago
A record number of elderly people are completing living wills to guide end-of-life medical treatments – up from 47 percent in 2000 to 72 percent in 2010 – according to new research from the University of Michigan and ...
User comments
© Medical Xpress 2011-2014, Science X network
Patients in Intensive Care have a better chance of survival if there are more doctors and nurses working on the unit, new research shows.
The study, led by the University of Greenwich, also shows that the survival of the most severely ill patients is most affected when there are insufficient nurses.
Researchers have been able to separate out staffing levels from other factors, such as workload and how ill patients are, for the first time after examining nearly 40,000 patient records and data from 65 ICUs in the UK.
Professor Elizabeth West, who led the research, says: "This is timely because the public are concerned about the ability of the NHS to provide safe and compassionate care. Recent catastrophic failures such as events at Mid-Staffordshire have highlighted the importance of staffing levels to patient survival, and this study has reinforced that message."
This is the first study of patient survival in ICUs to look at the numbers of doctors as well as nurses. Professor West says that doctors and nurses work closely together and function as a team on ICUs more than on other wards: "Future studies need to see the whole picture and examine how the multi-disciplinary team works together." It is also the first study to show that there is a sub-group of patients – those who are the most severely ill – who are most affected by low levels of nurse staffing.
She believes the new evidence will be essential to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) when it draws up guidance on safe staffing levels later this year.
Explore further: Study links nurses' workload and education to patients' survival after surgery
Provided by University of Greenwich
Medical Xpress on facebook
Related Stories
Study links nurses' workload and education to patients' survival after surgery
Feb 25, 2014
Patients are more likely to die after common surgical procedures when they are cared for in hospitals with heavier nurse workloads and fewer nurses with bachelor's degrees, concludes the largest investigation of nursing and ...
Most ward nurses say time pressures force them to 'ration' care
Jul 29, 2013
Most ward nurses say they are forced to ration care, and not do or complete certain aspects of it—including adequate monitoring of patients—because they don't have enough time, indicates research published online in BMJ Qu ...
More nurses for hospital patients: Impact on quality questionable
Sep 12, 2012
Passage of a bill in 1999 requiring minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in California hospitals increased the number of nurses but resulted in mixed quality of care, according to a new study in the journal Health Se ...
Doctors raise blood pressure in patients
Mar 25, 2014
Doctors routinely record blood pressure levels that are significantly higher than levels recorded by nurses, the first thorough analysis of scientific data has revealed.
Nighttime intensivist staffing and mortality in the ICU
May 21, 2012
Nighttime intensivist physician staffing in intensive care units (ICUs) with a low-intensity daytime staffing model is associated with reduced mortality, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Me ...
Recommended for you
Tobacco promotions still reaching youth
9 minutes ago
Teens and young adults who are exposed to marketing materials for tobacco products, such as coupons and websites, were far more likely to begin smoking or to be current smokers than those not exposed, finds ...
Eyes in the aisles: Why is Cap'n Crunch looking down at my child?
1 hour ago
Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids! In a study of 65 cereals in 10 different grocery stores, Cornell researchers found that cereals marketed to kids are placed half as high on supermarket shelves as adult ...
British adults want to cycle more but feel unable to make the final move
2 hours ago
An in depth study of British adults' attitudes to cycling over the last four years has found that a large number want to cycle more for everyday short journeys but feel unable to do so – with a major factor ...
Obama signs temporary Medicare fix bill for docs
5 hours ago
President Barack Obama has signed into law a bill giving doctors temporary relief from a flawed Medicare payment formula that threatened them with a 24 percent cut in their fees.
Obama cheers seven million health care sign ups
5 hours ago
President Barack Obama Tuesday cheered seven million people who bought into his health care law and lashed out at political foes who were "mad" that more Americans could get insured.
Record number of older adults completing living wills
9 hours ago
A record number of elderly people are completing living wills to guide end-of-life medical treatments – up from 47 percent in 2000 to 72 percent in 2010 – according to new research from the University of Michigan and ...
User comments
© Medical Xpress 2011-2014, Science X network
0 comments:
Post a Comment