The Relationship between Patient Load and Nursing Staffing Strength in Various Shifts of the Day in Emergency Department of a Major Tertiary Care Hospital in India

Introduction A hospital has to function 24 hours a day, which makes shift duties almost inescapable for the nurses. However, shift wise staffing of nursing in emergency departments (EDs) of most hospitals continues to parallel that of other clinical departments. Objective The aim of this study was to see the adequacy of staffing in reference to patient load in the different shifts of the day in the ED of a major tertiary care hospital in India. Methods This is a prospective cross-sectional study. The number of patients entering the ED in each shift as well as the number of nurses assigned in each shift were taken from the rotation over a period of 1 week. A single point questionnaire was also administered to all five nurses in each shift over the study period to assess staff perception of patient load in the shift. Ethics approval was taken from institutional ethics committee. Results For calculating the differential patient load in different shifts. We have calculated the average number of registered patients entering the emergency in over 1 week was 24 in the morning shift, 24 in the evening shift, and 81 in the night shift. The average nursing strength was 11 in morning shift, 11 in the evening shift, and 10 in the night shift. The average response from 15 nurses after interviewing them was 1 (overstaffed) in the morning, 2 (properly staffed) in the evening shift (properly staffed), and 4 in the night shift. Conclusion The ratio of registered patients entering the emergency and the number of nurses deployed in each shift does not match, which gives an important view to revise roster in such a way that will not compromise the patient care.