Adult inpatient general wards in four acute care NHS hospital trusts Not Applicable
Conditions
Interventions
In this study we will use the SNCT tool to assess acuity/dependency for all patients in each ward daily, over a period of 1 year. In a sub-sample we will undertake multiple daily observations periodic
Sponsors
The University of Southampton (UK)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1. Wards providing inpatient care for 7 days per week 2. Adult somatic health population/medical or surgical 3. Appropriate for SNCT according to the SNCT resource pack
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: 1. Wards that are assessed as providing highly specialised services (e.g. maternity, paediatric units) with atypical staffing requirements (as determined by local chief investigator, with documented reason) 2. Day case, weekday wards 3. ICU
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Associations between deviations from required staffing (measured by the SNCT) and measures of staffing adequacy (nurse-reported) | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Perception of staffing adequacy 2. Proportion of days that wards are critically under/over staffed based on 4 policies for using SNCT results (SNCT standard approach; maximum staffing approach; flexible staffing approach; policies established by expert patient/public reference groups) | — |
Countries
England, United Kingdom
Outcome results
None listed