Table 2.

Ward cluster structure, patient characteristics, patient acuity and staffing measures

	All patients	Medical units	Surgical units	Med‐Surg units	Step‐down units
	n = 89,724 patient episodes	n = 26,221 patient episodes	n = 41,596 patient episodes	n = 36,797 patient episodes	n = 6,548 patient episodes
Ward structure
Units_N	132	37	35	37	23
Beds_N	3,024	929	884	1,053	158
Patient days a _N	589,718	190,732	166,657	206,194	2,488
Patient features
Age > 70_%	46	52.6	39.4	48.5	49.1
Female gender_%	48.5	43.0	45.8	40.2	34.9
Length of stay_mean	5.5	7.4	4.0	6.5	3.7
Hi‐tech hospital_%	60.0	68.9	76.5	63.9	81.5
Reason for admission
Cardiocirculatory_%	14.8	18.4	8.0	18.6	36.3
Infections_%	13.5	24.0	10.7	14.3	3.6
Trauma and orthopaedics_%	12.1	1.4	19.2	16.2	1.8
General surgery_%	11.3	10.4	15.4	7.6	2.2
Digestive_%	10.4	9.2	13.3	8.6	8.0
Nervous system_%	8.3	9.5	3.5	10.3	38.8
Kidney and urinary_%	6.7	3.3	9.5	9.2	3.8
Respiratory_%	6.7	9.8	3.9	7.4	1.8
Reproductive_%	3.7	0.3	5.6	0.4	0.2
Head and neck_%	2.8	0.3	5.7	1.9	0.2
Haematologic and immunologic_%	2.0	8.9	1.4	3.3	2.1
Nutritional and Metabolic_%	1.5	1.6	2.4	0.8	0.9
Skin and burns_%	1.0	0.2	0.4	1.3	0.1
Psychiatric, mental health and addictions_%	0.8	2.4	0.1	0.1	0.1
Eye_%	0.5	0.2	0.7	0.1	0.01
Patient acuity
Acute (3 rNHPPD)_%	16.0	5.3	33.3	17	5.2
Intensification (4 rNHPPD)_%	26.7	22.1	31.9	29.3	15.7
Intermediate (6 rNHPPD)_%	42.0	50.5	27.4	38.8	60
Preintensive (8 rNHPPD)_%	14.4	20.3	6.9	14.1	17.9
Intensive (12 rNHPPD)_%	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.7
Superintensive (>13 rNHPPD)_%	0.3	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.5
Staffing measures
aNHPPD_mean	3.0	2.5	2.4	2.5	5.8
rNHPPD_mean	5.5	6	4.6	5.4	6
Balance	−2.5	−3.5	−2.2	−2.9	−0.2
Nurse staffing coverage_%	57.7	44.6	55.3	46.8	99.2

Abbreviations: Med‐Surg Units, combined medical–surgical wards; aNHHPD, available RN hours per patient day; rNHPPD, required RN hours per patient day.

^aPatient days_ accumulated patient days for the period of the study.