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Better Staffing Levels Save Lives

One of the big things nurses unions have organized around and drawn attention to is patient load. They argue that it’s not just better for the nurses if there are fewer patients per nurse, but better for the patients, who benefit from more personal attention and less chance of errors made in a hurry. Now, a study is bearing that out:

The study, published online last month by the journal Health Services Research, compares the outcomes of 1.1 million general surgery patients in 2005-6 in more than 800 hospitals in three states — California, where nurses in medical-surgical units are limited to five patients at a time; and New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where nurses’ patient loads averaged more than six.

Researchers concluded that 225 hospital deaths in New Jersey, or 13.9 percent of all deaths in general surgery, and 200 deaths in Pennsylvania, or 10.6 percent, could have been averted with rules similar to California’s.

Staffing levels probably have similar effects in lots of worksites—not just nurses but all medical professions, including at nursing homes; definitely schools; and really anything else where an overburdened worker’s lack of attention for a minute could harm someone, or where individual attention is needed to achieve a good outcome.

This is a big way unions are always fighting for the general public. Too frequently employers are the ones we hear from, and they paint a picture of lazy workers who just want to have it easy. No. Unions save lives by protecting patients from companies looking to squeeze out profits.

Tags: unions