Aim: To evaluate nurse staffing levels and nursing care delivery in adult general medical or surgical wards of hospitals in the Pudong district of Shanghai, China.
Background: Rapid economic development and improved Chinese living standards have spurred increased demands for high-quality health care. Thus, the quality of nursing services has become a focus of attention.
Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive design was used for the study.
Methods: We used an anonymous survey to collect data from 1614 nurses from 98 wards in seven general hospitals in Pudong, Shanghai.
Results: During day shifts, the nurse-to-patient ratios were >1:10. However, these ratios were much higher during evening and night shifts. The clinical frontline nursing workforce primarily consisted of nurses with junior college degrees that had limited working experience. Junior nurses with different educational backgrounds, professional levels and work experiences were assigned almost similar nursing care work as senior nurses.
Conclusions: In the surveyed hospitals in the Pudong district, nurse staffing levels and skill mix may be inadequate to meet the increasing demands of patient care. The clinical nursing workforce needs to be strengthened and used effectively to enhance the quality and safety of patient care.
Relevance to clinical practice: We should focus on the quantity and quality of the nursing workforce, as well as nursing skill utilisation.
Keywords: China; inpatient nursing care; nurse staffing; nursing management; questionnaire survey.