Addressing increasing patient acuity and nursing workload.

Abstract

IN 2002, Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust (SUHT) participated in the Audit Commission’s national augmented care period (ACP) dataset audit. The ‘snap-shot’ data collected over three days identified a shortfall of 83 level 2 beds and a further 120 patients in the wards who required higher levels of care than they were receiving. As services continued to develop in line with trust service strategies, clinicians testified to increasing complexity of patient condition and levels of activity, but decreasing overall length of stay. They also testified that patient acuity had increased beyond that which current resources could manage appropriately, a picture no doubt reflecting that of many large UK teaching trusts. In recognising this problem, SUHT chose to adopt ‘addressing increasing patient acuity’ as a key modernisation and investment project. An important component of this work was measuring the ‘gap’ between patient care requirements and available resources to enable investment to be channelled to the areas of greatest need and benefit. To achieve this, a single measurement tool that reflected both patient acuity and dependence on nursing resources and could be implemented across all clinical areas was required.