A new study out of the United Kingdom indicates that patient mortality is directly associated with nursing staff levels. This study, performed by Royal College of Nursing (RCN), comes to similar conclusions compared to studies done in the U.S. which show that the number of nurses on staff at a healthcare facility has a strong impact on patient recovery and survival rates. The UK study showed that that wards with lower nurse to patient ratios had a 26 percent higher patient mortality rate. Another important conclusion finds that facilities with the biggest nurse workloads are about 71 percent to 92 percent more likely to experience burn out and become dissatisfied with their jobs. As a result, the study shows, the nurses are also more likely to report low or deteriorating quality of care on their wards and hospitals.

More: http://www.rcn.org.uk/news/mediadisplay.php?ID=2202&area=Press