Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) on Wednesday last week told lawmakers that the ministry would look into the issue of hospital bed closures caused by a nursing shortage, and sit down with nurse associations to discuss feasible solutions.
Local news media last week reported multiple cases of nurse shortages leading to hospitals limiting bed capacity and reducing surgery hours, leading to long waiting lists for certain treatment procedures and increasing “corridor care” — caring for patients on chairs or beds in waiting rooms or corridors.
Some news reports cited physicians as saying that up to 30 percent of a hospital’s beds were closed, while post-surgery patients at a hospital received corridor care for two to three days before being moved to a ward, and a hospital even introduced a rule of no surgeries after 2pm due to a nursing shortage.
Responding to public concerns, the ministry’s Department of Nursing and Healthcare released data showing that the number of registered nurses increased by 3,592 from a year earlier, including 809 more nurses working in healthcare facilities and an increase of 1,879 hospital beds from a year earlier — seemingly to rebut the claims.
However, lawmakers cited more cases to emphasize the seriousness of the nationwide nursing shortage crisis, and urged the ministry to investigate what is happening, and monitor and address the issue.
Nurses from three hospital unions on Thursday also called on the ministry to come up with solutions to improve nurses’ working conditions, and demanded union participation in routine negotiations, a fairer reward mechanism and transparency in nurse-to-patient ratio, nursing turnover and vacancy rates.
The shortage is a complex issue caused by various factors and has been going on for several years. Nurses’ unions in Taiwan have been holding protests to bring attention to the high turnover rates and demand better work conditions from about a decade ago.
The issue is not limited to Taiwan.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projected an average of 193,100 openings for registered nurses each year through 2032, while the US Health Resources and Services Administration estimated a shortage of 63,720 full-time registered nurses in 2030.
In the UK, studies estimated a shortage of 46,000 nurses this year, which might grow to 140,000 in 2030 without intervention, and demand for 21,000 more beds by the same year. British media last month also reported “corridor care” was becoming normalized, while a survey by the Royal College of Nursing found one in three nurses saw patients being cared for in inappropriate places.
The Executive Yuan last year estimated the demand for registered nurses would hit 240,000 to 260,000 by 2030, but there were only about 186,000 in the workforce. In September last year, it proposed a NT$1.8 billion (US$55.81 million) “12-point incentive program” to improve nursing recruitment and retention, including reducing the nurse-to-patient ratios for the three shifts and offering a graveyard-shift bonus, which took effect this year.
However, nurses’ unions say the new policies are not effective, as the reward mechanism is not fair and hospital management cut down or distorted the incentives.
The nursing shortage crisis is likely to continue without concerted action, as a rapidly aging population needs more healthcare, retirements are outpacing new workers, who cannot keep up with the growing demand. The shortage in turn reinforces stress levels and burnouts and raises turnover.
The government must take the shortage seriously, listen to nurses’ concerns, identify the root causes, and work with nurse associations, hospitals, nurse educators, lawmakers and other stakeholders to address the complex issue. Coordinated planning, action and investment would ensure a sustainable nursing workforce, as well as safe and high-quality services for patients.
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