The ethical complexities of nursing care rationing

Abstract

Recent studies into nursing care rationing indicate that nurses always ration their time and care, resulting to serious threats to the quality of care and patient safety. For example patient mobilization, hygiene, feeding, communication, patient support, teaching and discharge planning, surveillance and care documentation are regularly lacking or omitted. Significant associations were also found between care rationing and patient-related outcomes like falls, acquired nosocomial infections, pressure ulcers, increased mortality rates and low patient satisfaction rates. Hence there is clear empirical evidence showing that care and safety is severely jeopardized in contemporary nursing.