Mir Hassan Bullo, Katrina A Ronis.
Assessment of Workload Pressure and Optimal Staffing need of Nursing Staff for Inpatient services at FGH Islamabad.
Pak J Public Health Jan ;6(3):54-8.

Background: Human Resource Management in the health sector is one of the most important building blocks of the World Health Organisation's ?Health Systems?. Managing and balancing the health work force equitably in the hospital and other health care facilities is important to deliver quality health care. Within a Pakistani context the challenge is primarily with the public sector hospitals where staff shortages lead to higher workload pressure especially among nursing staff. Hospital nurse staffing and their working conditions is a major concern due to the effect it can have on patient safety and quality of care. This study generated evidence to provide base line data for future nurse staffing need for the inpatient services of the Federal General Hospital (FGH) Chak Shahzad Islamabad. Methods: Workload Indictor of Staffing Need (WISN) methodology was used to determine the workload pressure and optimal staffing need for nurses. In this cross sectional study all the activities of 23 nurses were enlisted through a spread sheet and questionnaires were used to document the time required to execute each nursing activity according to the Nursing Staff and an expert group in this study. The expert group in this study consisted of 1.Nursing Superintendent of the hospital, 2 Deputy Registrar of PNC, 3 Senior Nurse from N.I.H. Results: The main findings revealed a mean age of 30 ± 0.739 years for the Nursing Staff. There was a maximum shortage of 12 nurses for the Accident and Emergency department with 67% higher workload pressure. Conclusion: The five indoor departments of the FGH require an additional 25 Nursing Staff to manage the 53% workload pressure. Key Words: Health Systems, Hospital, Patient Safety, Workforce, Pakistan, Fatigue Syndrome.

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