The legislation currently being considered plans to establish an accurate staffing distribution for the ratio of nurses to patients. The need to revise the personnel policy was caused by acute problems during the pandemic. On the one hand, nurses are in favor of protecting their interests and setting accurate working hours and maximum workload in relation to the number of patients. On the other hand, such a policy will harm the financial system, obliging the hospital to additional expenses. The adoption of the new legislation will have a generally positive effect, if the budget plan is strictly followed.
Firstly, it is necessary to approach the issue from the point of view of the workload of nurses and the need to protect their labor interests. There are still strikes in the US due to insufficient staffing and too high workload (Propper et al., 2020). The new low will work, since it will protect nurses from being overburdened and allow them to provide better patient care. To change the financial policy in connection with an increase in the number of nurses and a decrease in their workload, clear correlations must be taken into account. Variables include maximum number of patients per nurse, workload per month, baseline number of beds, number of staff, and patients’ complexity.
Even though acuity needs are getting more complex, mandatory staffing is a necessity. Professional nurses will be more able to handle difficult cases if they are not overburdened. Working with more difficult patients should be considered both in the distribution of workload and payments. It is proposed to take into account the exact number of hours that should be spent on a patient, depending on their condition. The new personnel structure will improve the position of nurses, but will significantly increase operating budgets. However, a new policy is needed to provide better patient care and improve the quality of healthcare services.
In conclusion, the states are gradually coming to realize the need to establish clear staffing frameworks to reduce the burden on nurses and improve the level of care. The new policies lead to budget increases, but they seem inevitable to improve the situation of insufficient staffing. To improve nursing capacities and protect their labor interests, new legislation needs to be enacted. Operating expenses must adjust over time to ensure the efficient functioning of the healthcare facility.
Reference
Propper, C., Stoye, G., & Zaranko, B. (2020). The wider impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the NHS. Fiscal Studies, 41(2), 345-356. Web.