Nursing workforce deployment and intensive care unit strain during the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria, Australia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic demanded intensive care units (ICUs) globally to expand to meet increasing patient numbers requiring critical care. Critical care nurses were a finite resource in this challenge to meet growing patient numbers, necessitating redeployment of nursing staff to work in ICUs.

Objective

Our aim was to describe the extent and manner by which the increased demand for ICU care during the COVID-19 pandemic was met by ICU nursing workforce expansion in the late 2021 and early 2022 in Victoria, Australia.

Methods

This is a retrospective cohort study of Victorian ICUs who contributed nursing data to the Critical Health Information System from 1 December 2021 to 11 April 2022. Bedside nursing workforce data, in categories as defined by Safer Care Vi

SUBMITTER: Topple M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9742212 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature