Nurse staffing levels: does the hospital have specific rules on nurse staffing levels?

This measure is used to determine whether or not the hospital has specific rules on nurse staffing levels.

The level of nurse staffing in a healthcare institution is strongly associated with the risk of adverse events encountered by patients. Specifically, lower staffing rates are associated with increased risk of adverse events.

Main aim of indicator: to ensure that the level of nurse staffing is appropriate to facilitate correct patient care. The existence of rules on nurse staffing levels demonstrates the hospital's endeavors to adjust nurse staffing levels to its needs.

Nurse staffing level rules

This measure applies to hospitals (one hospital at a time).

The hospital has specific rules on nurse staffing levels.

20 percent of hospitals have specific rules on nurse staffing levels.

After pilot testing, the set of indicators has been measured in a random sample of 25 Spanish hospitals, stratified by hospital size. The main objective has been to field test the feasibility of measurement in the various settings representing real life situations in the context of the Spanish Health Care System.

Both the whole indicators validation report and the results of the baseline measurement in a sample of the Spanish National Health Service (NHS) hospitals may be accessed and downloaded from the Spanish Ministry of Health web page (in Spanish):

• Validation report 
• Results of baseline measurement in Spanish NHS hospitals 

Does not apply to this measure

Does not apply to this measure

Inclusions
This measure applies to hospitals (one hospital at a time).

Exclusions
None

Inclusions
The hospital has specific rules on nurse staffing levels.

Exclusions
None

None

Existence of well-founded rules on nurse staffing levels.

Agency for Quality, Spanish Ministry of Health

Saturno, Pedro J., MD, DrPH; Group Director and Project PI

Castillo, Carmen; López, M. José; Ramón, Teresa; Nurses

Carrillo, Andrés, MD; Intensive Care Specialist

Iranzo, M. Dolores; Hospital pharmacist

Soria, Victor, MD; Surgeon

Parra, Pedro, MD; Gomis, Rafael, MD; Gascón, Juan J., MD; Quality Management Specialists

Project entirely financed by the Spanish Ministry of Health.

This measure was not adapted from another source.

Unspecified

Unspecified

This is the current release of the measure.

The measure developer reaffirmed the currency of this measure in April 2016.

Source not available electronically.

For more information, contact:

• Ministry of Health and Social Policy, at Paseo del Prado, 18-20, planta baja, esquina con Lope de Vega. 28014 Madrid; Phone: +34 901 400 100; Fax: +34 915 96 44 80; Web site: www.msc.es/en/home.htm .

  OR

• Pedro J. Saturno, Facultad de Medicina, at Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Espinardo-Murcia (Spain); Phone: 868 883 948; Fax: +34 868 883947; E-mail: psaturno@um.es.

The following are available:

• Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo. Construccion y validacion de indicadores de buenas practicas sobre seguridad del paciente. Madrid: Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo; 2008. 178 p. This document is available in Portable Document Format (PDF) from the Ministry of Health and Social Policy Web site  (in Spanish).
• Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo. Indicadores de buenas practicas sobre seguridad del paciente. Resultados de su medicion en una muestra de hospitales del sistema nacional de salud Español. Madrid: Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo; 2008. 95 p. This document is available in PDF from the Ministry of Health and Social Policy Web site  (in Spanish).

This NQMC summary was completed by ECRI Institute on August 21, 2009. The information was verified by the measure developer on October 16, 2009.

This NQMC summary was retrofitted into the new template on July 26, 2011.

The information was reaffirmed by the measure developer on April 4, 2016.

No copyright restrictions apply.