An effective nursing staffing model for a private hospital

Abstract

Healthcare organisations in South-Africa are constantly looking for cost containment strategies, while providing and delivering effective healthcare and managing risk. Private hospitals must develop a cost effective staffing strategy to plan and meet present and future nursing needs. The need for safe and adequate nursing staffing levels is becoming more critical every day. Nursing shortages, combined with the increased workload it causes have to be addressed by nursing managers. The right number of nursing staff members with the right level of training and experience must be employed and retained to provide consistent high quality nursing care and guarantee patient safety. Nursing workforce management is a major responsibility of nursing management. This research study identified, investigated and evaluated significant factors and trends that contribute to, or influence the determining of the staff component in nursing units in the South-African private hospital environment. Criteria for an effective nursing staffing model to assist nursing managers in workforce management were developed. The study was conducted in two phases. A literature review and an empirical study were conducted. Information and the identification of factors influencing nurse staffing was obtained through the literature study. An empirical investigation was done to understand nursing staffing practices. Information was gathered through a questionnaire that was compiled as part of the qualitative research design. The various factors influencing the determining of nursing teams were empirically investigated and analysed. The including of factors in nursing staffing models was empirically tested.