title: The effects of nurse to patient ratios.
abstract: This article examines the literature on nurse to patient ratios to establish the impact on both patients and staff of understaffing on hospital wards. It discusses theories on ideal staff to patient ratios and the resource implications of these, and recommends a number of dynamic and innovative ways to allocate staff.
authors.affiliation: Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Patterson
mesh_terms: D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006757:Hospital Units; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D020380:Needs Assessment; D015401:Nursing Administration Research; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D009735:Nursing Homes; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000523:psychology / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017751:Safety Management; D013222:State Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D000078329:Workforce; D016526:Workload / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*