Temporary nursing staff - cost and quality issues.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Nursing Workforce Studies
• Quality of Care Research

Background:

• Rising healthcare wages due to temporary nurse staffing challenges.
• Impact of temporary nurses on inpatient care quality and costs remains a concern.
• Recruitment, retention, and sickness absence drive reliance on temporary staff.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare work activity, cost, and quality of care between temporary and permanent nursing staff.
• To investigate the effects of temporary nurse employment on inpatient ward environments.
• To determine if ward nursing quality and costs differ with temporary staff utilization.

Main Methods:

• Comparative study of 605 UK general and specialist wards (2004-2009).
• Data collection via non-participant observation, document analysis, and interviews.
• Wards categorized into permanent-only staff and mixed permanent/temporary staff groups.

Main Results:

• Wards with temporary staff experienced greater workloads and time out (e.g., sickness absence).
• Mixed staffing wards were more expensive to operate with distinct working styles.
• No significant difference in overall quality scores between wards with permanent-only versus mixed staffing.

Conclusions:

• Ward managers must actively monitor temporary staffing's effect on nursing activity and quality.
• Further research in mental health, learning disability, and community nursing settings is recommended.
• Findings suggest temporary staffing does not negatively impact inpatient care quality despite increased costs and workloads.