Busy weekend - nursing shortage

[Jane Harper]

It's been an issue in the US for 20 years -- when I first started in
critical care back in the mid-80s we routinely had to close beds for lack of
appropriately trained nurses.

Only when I worked in public facilities (i.e. county hospitals) were we
unable to close to EMS traffic when we didn't have the staff to care for the
patients we were getting.  As the hospitals of last resort, when I was in
California the county hospitals were prohibited by law from closing to
emergency traffic.

Jane


On 7/14/08 12:39 AM, "Timothy Craig Hardcastle" <TimothyHar at ialch.co.za>
wrote:

> Hi all
>  
> We had a rather hectic weekend - but were even more curtailed by a
> shortage of nurses; had to close ICU beds and refuse some patients from
> the EMS. Is this just a South African problem or is this really an issue
> in the USA, Europe and UK as well? Do you have any ideas about how to
> attract dedicated trauma nurses to one's unit?
>  
> Tim
> Dr Timothy C Hardcastle
> M.B., Ch.B. (Stell); M. Med (Chir) (Stell); FCS (SA)
> Principal Surgeon-Lecturer / Sub-specialist: Trauma and Critical Care
> Deputy director: Trauma Unit and Trauma ICU
> Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital / UKZN
> 800 Bellair Road
> Mayville, Durban
>  
> Postal: PostNet Suite 27
> Private Bag X05
> Malvern, 4055
> KwaZulu Natal
>  
> timothyhar at ialch.co.za
>  
>  
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-- 
Jane Harper, PhD(c), RN, APN
Trauma Nurse Practitioner, Rockford, IL