Staffing shortages can indirectly contribute to the risk of home care negligence in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, increased likelihood of mistakes (i.e. medication errors, failure to follow treatment plans, etc.), insufficient oversight of care practices, delayed or inadequate responses to patients, and miscommunication about patient care:
1. Overworked Staff: When there aren’t enough caregivers, the existing staff often have to work longer hours and manage more patients than they can handle effectively. This can lead to burnout and fatigue, increasing the likelihood of mistakes and oversight. See Staffing Shortages: Responses and Risks at Hospitals and Health Systems
2. Reduced Supervision: With fewer staff members, there is less supervision and oversight of care practices. This can result in missed signs of patient distress or deterioration, leading to delayed or inadequate responses.
Staffing shortages not only mean hospitals don’t have enough people to handle patient loads, but many of those on staff do not have the expertise to perform adequate care. Medical errors result from these common causes:
a. Safety failures: Medical personnel find workarounds or ignore safety protocols resulting in shortcuts to get the job done.
b. Cognitive issues: Overwhelmed staff members often have trouble concentrating, leading to errors or omissions that harm patients.
c. Close calls: With little oversight and overworked staff members, medication errors may not be caught in time. Even physical hazards, such as wet floors, can lead to injuries for patients and staffers.
Staffing shortages and the pressures associated with overworked medical personnel continue to lead to many avoidable consequences for patients, including medication and anesthesia errors, inadequate monitoring after procedures, failure to take proper precautions and technical medical mistakes.
See Staffing shortages remain a significant cause of medical errors
3. Inadequate Training: Staffing shortages can force agencies to hire less experienced or inadequately trained caregivers to fill gaps quickly. These caregivers may not be fully prepared to handle complex patient needs, increasing the risk of errors.
4. Inconsistent Care: High turnover rates and staffing shortages can lead to inconsistent care, where patients see different caregivers frequently. This lack of continuity can result in miscommunication and gaps in care, as new caregivers may not be fully aware of a patient’s history or specific needs.
5. Increased Stress: The stress of working in an understaffed environment can affect caregivers’ mental health, leading to decreased job satisfaction and higher rates of absenteeism. This further exacerbates the staffing problem and increases the risk of negligence.
6. Higher Turnover Rates: staffing shortages can lead to high stress levels that contribute to high turnover rates among nursing staff. This constant change can disrupt the continuity of care, leading to lapses in patient attention and care quality.
Michael Barnett, assistant professor of health policy and management at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said that staff shortages at nursing homes are “emblematic of the systemic neglect of the nursing home system” and pinpointed low wages as a critical factor behind staffing issues.
See Low wages, high risk strain nursing homes’ workforce
Related:
Home Health Care Negligence Claims
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