Table 2.
Ward means (95% confidence interval) for nurse staffing levels, by type of local authority
| Local authority |
No of staff needed per patient
|
Estimated No of vacancies† | No of staff a trust aims to employ | % of regular staff on duty | % of qualified staff on duty | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated* | Actual | |||||||||
| Inner London (n=15) | 1.66 (1.37 to 1.95) | 0.86 (0.71 to 1.01) | 13.01 (9.21 to 16.80) | 1.19 (0.98 to 1.4) | 90 (84 to 96) | 78 (70 to 86) | ||||
| Outer London (n=37) | 1.40 (1.24 to 1.56) | 0.77 (0.66 to 0.87) | 12.41 (10.29 to 14.52) | 0.97 (0.86 to 1.0) | 88 (81 to 94) | 63 (58 to 68) | ||||
| Metropolitan (n=55) | 1.36 (1.23 to 1.50) | 1.07 (0.96 to 1.18) | 5.87 (3.76 to 7.98) | 1.05 (0.94 to 1.1) | 96 (93 to 99) | 51 (47 to 56) | ||||
| County council (n=145) | 1.50 (1.40 to 1.60) | 1.09 (1.01 to 1.17) | 7.53 (6.31 to 8.75) | 1.17 (1.09 to 1.2) | 94 (91 to 96) | 61 (58 to 64) | ||||
| Wales (n=11) | 1.51 (1.03 to 1.99) | 0.95 (0.66 to 1.24) | 8.98 (5.87 to 12.10) | 0.93 (0.65 to 1.2) | 96 (91 to 102) | 65 (57 to 73) | ||||
| Total (n=263) | 1.47 (1.40 to 1.54) | 1.02 (0.96 to 1.07) | 8.24 (7.32 to 9.16) | 1.11 (1.05 to 1.1) | 93 (91 to 95) | 61 (59 to 63) | ||||
| Significance (F test) | F=1.18; df 4, 253; P=0.319 | F=4.59; df 4, 257; P<0.01 | F=6.54; df 4, 253; P<0.001 | F=2.25; df 4, 256; P=0.064 | F=2.13; df 4, 258; P=0.077 | F=9.32; df 4, 258; P<0.001 | ||||
*
Actual staff on duty multiplied by 5.1 for non-handover and 3.6 for handover period.10
†
Estimated number of staff needed minus actual number of permanent staff.