Abstract
AimTo explore the mobilization of nurses/midwives in a designated hospital group in Ireland during a global pandemic.BackgroundThe recent global pandemic has resulted in the large‐scale worldwide mobilization of registered nurses and midwives working in the acute care sector. There is a dearth of literature reporting the mobilization of this professional workforce.MethodMixed‐methods design using an electronic survey and facilitated discussion across one Irish hospital group.ResultsEight of 11 hospitals responded to the survey. There was a 2% vacancy rate prior to the pandemic. Mobilization included reconfiguration of clinical areas and redeployment of 9% of the nursing/midwifery workforce within 2 weeks of the pandemic. A total of 11% (n = 343) of nurses/midwives were redeployed in 3 months. Nurses/midwives required re‐skilling in infection prevention control, enhancement of critical care skills and documentation.ConclusionsThree key areas were identified to enable the nursing workforce readiness. These are referred to as the three ‘R's’: Reconfiguration of specific resources, Redeployment of nurses to dedicated specialist areas and Re‐skilling of nurses to safely care for the patients during the pandemic.Implications for Nursing Management A centralized approach to reconfiguration of clinical areas.Redeployment is enabled by closing non‐essential departments.Hands‐on re‐skilling and reorientating staff are essential.
Highlights
The coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic has resulted in the large-scale worldwide mobilisation of Registered Nurses and Midwives working in the acute hospital sector, to meet the urgent needs of patients and families (Jackson et al, 2020)
The majority (n=6; 75%) of organisations indicated that both ward design, and clinical skills of the nurses working in the ward areas, informed decisions related to the reconfiguration of clinical areas as opposed to a surge in activity
This study revealed that workforce readiness during the first wave of a global pandemic was influenced by many factors, for example, a documented contingency plan, collaborative decision making, ward design, and the upskilling of nurses’ clinical skill set
Summary
The coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic has resulted in the large-scale worldwide mobilisation of Registered Nurses and Midwives working in the acute hospital sector, to meet the urgent needs of patients and families (Jackson et al, 2020). Research studies have outlined an association between higher registered nurse staffing levels in hospitals with better patient outcomes and improved care quality (Griffiths et al 2016, 2018). During Covid 19, nursing management teams were responsible to implement strategies to mobilise the large workforce to meet the unpredictable demands of a pandemic (Wu et al 2020). The recent global pandemic has resulted in the large-scale worldwide mobilisation of Registered Nurses and Midwives working in the acute care sector. The IEHG, comprises 11 hospitals, with a nursing/midwifery workforce of 4,400.
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