15 Oct 2009

Under-fire health board boosts time spent with patients

5:28 pm on 15 October 2009

An Auckland health board that compromised the care of patients through understaffing and overcrowding says nurses now spend nearly 15% more time with patients.

The Health and Disability Commissioner earlier this year found that the Waitemata District Health Board had breached the rights of North Shore Hospital patients because nurses could not spend enough time with them.

The board says that when a new management system was trialled in one ward, nurses were able to spend 41% of their time in direct patient contact.

It also says the new system has also improved safety, with patient falls reduced by half.