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Nursing cutbacks 'linked to rise in patient death rates'
Cuts to nurses on wards is "directly linked" to higher patient death rates, claims a study of 300 hospitals in England and 8 other EU nations. Every extra patient added to a nurse's workload increases the risk of death within a month of surgery by 7%
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Over eight patients to one nurse is 'very dangerous'
Hospital wards "become very dangerous" if nurses are caring for more than eight patients at a time, an expert from the Royal College of Nursing has told Daybreak.
Director of Nursing Janet Davies said there was no ideal number of nursing staff on a ward as demands varied depending on "type of ward, the age of the patient and the complexity".
However, she argued for a higher education level among nurses and said staff members with a degree were better at thinking on their feet.
Nurses 'have their work cut out' by low staff levels
English nurses who work on understaffed wards "have got their work cut out" for them, Daybreak's health editor Dr Hilary Jones explained.
He explained the uphill battle faced by nurses and the need for more would-be nurses to gain a degree:
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No plans for minimum number of nurses requirement
The Government will not introduce a legal minimum for the number of nurses working on hospital wards because staff requirements were a "different number for different wards", Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said.
A major study has found a direct link between nursing cutbacks and higher patient death rates.
Mr Hunt said forcing hospitals to publish monthly data on ward staffing would be a "huge step" forward.
England has higher patient-nurse ratio compared to EU
The patient-to-nurse ratio in England is significantly higher compared to other countries, new research has revealed, after a major study suggested nursing cutbacks are directly linked to higher patient death rates in hospital.
Norway had a ratio of 5.2 to one, the Irish Republic 6.9, the Netherlands seven and Finland and Sweden 7.6.
Spain appeared to have the most overworked staff, with an average 12.7 patients per nurse but every nurse in the country is required to have a a bachelor degree.
A 10 per cent increase in the proportion of nurses holding a bachelor degree was associated with 7 per cent lower surgical death rates.
RCN: Patient to nurse ratio in UK 'worrying'
The number of patients cared for by each nurse in the UK is "worrying" and "can compromise patient safety," according to experts.
Chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, Peter Carter, expressed concern over findings which showed nurses were expected to care for nine different patients on a daily basis.
Spain has 'most overworked' nurses
Nurses working in Spain are the most overworked in Europe, according to researchers.
However, patients have a higher chance of survival after surgery because more Spanish nurses have an undergraduate degree.
Staff in English hospitals look after nine patients on average - one more than professional bodies would like.
According to research published in the Lancet journal:
- Spanish nurses look after an average of 12.7 patients every day.
- Norway has a ratio of five patients to every nurse.
- Ireland every seven patients will be cared for by one nurse.
- The Netherlands, Finland and Sweden all had roughly seven nurses to every patient.
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Lack of nurses 'increases risk of death' by 7%
A patients' risk of death of after surgery rises by 7% if there are not enough properly trained nurses working on their ward, according to research.
The survey, published in the Lancet journal, looked at nine European countries and revealed how the extra workload created by cutbacks was also exacerbated by a lack of properly trained staff.
Nurses with university degrees had helped compensate for reduced staff numbers, but researchers found most UK nurses were juggling nine patients per day since cutbacks began.
However, researchers found a 10% increase in the proportion of nurses holding a bachelor degree was associated with 7% lower surgical death rates.
US expert Professor Linda Aiken, who led the research, said: "Our findings emphasise the risk to patients that could emerge in response to nurse staffing cuts under recent austerity measures, and suggest that an increased emphasis on bachelor's education for nurses could reduce hospital deaths."