Emergency rooms where nurses say there are not enough staff keep patients longer and lose more of them from the waiting room, according to new research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. The study of 410 hospitals, published in the journal Medical Care, found that nurse-reported understaffing was associated with measurable delays in emergency care. The study shows an association, not proof that staffing alone causes crowding.
For families, the finding touches a familiar fear. A longer ER stay can mean extra hours on a stretcher for an older parent waiting for a bed, or a teenager in a mental health crisis waiting for help. When frustrated patients walk out before a provider sees them, a treatable problem can go unaddressed, and they may end up back in the same waiting room later.
