Date:13/05/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/05/13/stories/2006051319710300.htm

Karnataka - Mysore

`Shortage of staff posing problems in providing healthcare facilities'

Staff Correspondent

Nurses' Fest 2006 organised to mark International Nurses Day

`Lack of staff is resulting in an increase in the length of hospital stays and patient mortality'

`High patient-to-nurse ratio will not only affect patients but also nurses'

AUSPICIOUS START: Principal of JSS Medical College Raghothama Rao lighting the lamp to inaugurate the JSS Nurses Fest 2006, organised by JSS College of Nursing to mark the International Nurses Day. Principal of JSS Nursing College, Mysore, Bharti M. (fourth from left) is seen. — Photo: M.A. Sriram

MYSORE: More than 300 nurses and students of nursing schools participated in the Nurses' Fest 2006 organised by JSS College of Nursing at Rajendra Auditorium in Mysore on Friday to mark the International Nurses Day.

The Nurses' Fest organised on the theme "Safe Staffing, Save Lives" saw 18 nurses and nursing college students participate in a debate competition on "Better Nurse-Patient ratio leads to better patient care".

Vital factor

Principal of JSS Medical College K. Raghothama Rao inaugurated the Nurses' Fest 2006, while professor of Medicine, JSS Hospital, Mysore, Basavanna Gowda delivered the keynote address. In his address, Dr. Gowda said that nursing services depended critically on adequate staff.

In the press statement, Dr. Bharti emphasised the need for policy makers across the world to address the problem of shortage of staff in healthcare. "Shortage of staff in healthcare facilities is a major problem across the world. This is resulting in an increase in the length of hospital stays and patient mortality," she said.

Dr. Bharti said nurses all over the world were seeking a policy framework to ensure that serious attention was paid to comprehensive human resource planning in health.

"There is a need for adequate nurse-to-patient ratio in all healthcare settings," she pointed out.

Lower medication errors

Quoting the president of International Council of Nurses (ICN) Hiroko Minami, the Principal of JSS College for Nursing said adequate staff meant lower incidence of medication errors. "High patient-to-nurse ratio will not only affect patients, but also the nurses who are at a higher risk of emotional exhaustion, stress, job dissatisfaction and burnout," she said.