Intrahospital transfers and the impact on nursing workload
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Journal of Clinical Nursing
Medical Subject Headings
Analysis of Variance; Hospital Bed Capacity; Humans; Nursing Staff, Hospital; Patient Transfer; Prospective Studies; Retrospective Studies; Time and Motion Studies; Workload
ISSN
1365-2702
Volume
26
Issue
23-24
First Page
4822
Last Page
4829
PubMed ID
28382638
Publisher
Wiley
School
School of Nursing and Midwifery
RAS ID
26349
Abstract
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To determine the rate of patient moves and the impact on nurses' time.
BACKGROUND: Bed shortages and strategies designed to increase patient flow have led to a global increase in patient transfers between wards. The impact of transferring patients between wards and between beds within a ward on nurses' workload has not previously been measured.
DESIGN: A two-stage sequential study. Retrospective analysis of hospital data and a prospective observational-timing study.
METHODS: Secondary analysis of an administrative data set to inform the rate of ward and bed transfers (n = 34,715) was undertaken followed by an observational-timing study of nurses' activities associated with patient transfers (n = 75).
RESULTS: Over 10,000 patients were moved 34,715 times in 1 year which equates to an average of 2.4 transfers per patient. On average, patient transfers took 42 min and bed transfers took 11 min of nurses' time. Based on the frequency of patient moves, 11.3 full-time equivalent nurses are needed to move patients within the site hospital each month.
CONCLUSION: Transferring patients is workload intensive on nurses' time and should be included in nursing workload measurement systems.
RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Nurses at the site hospital spend over 1700 hr each month on activities associated with transferring patients, meaning that less time is available for nursing care.
DOI
10.1111/jocn.13838
Access Rights
subscription content
Comments
Blay, N., Roche, M. A., Duffield, C., & Gallagher, R. (2017). Intrahospital transfers and the impact on nursing workload. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 26(23-24), 4822-4829. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13838