This is a pretty intuitive finding, but it’s a reminder that overworked hospital personnel are not just a danger to themselves, but their patients.HealthDay (1/19, Preidt) reported that “patients in hospitals where nurses work long hours are much more likely to die of pneumonia and heart attack,” according to a study published in the journal Nursing Research. Investigators “looked at patient outcomes and staffing information at 71 acute care hospitals in Illinois and North Carolina, along with survey responses from 633 nurses who worked at the hospitals.”

Nursing professor and study author Alison Trinkoff explained, “Alertness and vigilance required for providing good nursing care depend upon having an adequate duration of quality sleep and rest, and long work hours can impact the quality of nursing care and can increase the potential for error.”

The same holds for pilots required work 16 hour days and truck drivers pulling loads on short rest. Unfortunately, too many employers either try to squeeze every ounce of productivity out of their employees, putting the public at risk.

Our recommendation? Find out the nurse to patient ratio in your hospital before you get admitted. Also, if you can. Have someone stay with you to make sure you get the care you need. You can always talk to us at Lundy Law if you or a loved one have been provided with inadequate care.