The quantity of nursing care on wards working 8- and 12-hour shifts.
Interest in 12-hour nursing shifts has been renewed in response to demands for improved cost-effectiveness in the NHS, but the effects of this shift on the delivery of patient care have been unclear. This paper describes the results of a repeated-measures study of 10 wards, using activity analysis to describe patterns of care under an 8-hour compared to a 12-hour shift system. Significant reductions in the amount of direct patient care were found under the 12-hour shift, with corresponding increases in unofficial work-breaks. It is suggested that these findings, which were consistent over all study wards and throughout the whole 12-hour day, demonstrate a "pacing" effect by nurses who face 12 hours on duty. Such a detrimental effect should be a major consideration when coming to any decision to implement a 12-hour shift.
Reid
N
N
School of Health and Social Sciences, Coventry University, U.K.
Robinson
G
G
Todd
C
C
D006757:Hospital Units / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D009738:Nursing Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D006113:United Kingdom; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance; D000078329:Workforce