Evidence on missed care and outcomes that reinforces the need for more nurses has to be obvious to everyone

Decades of research have established beyond doubt that there is an association between registered nurse (RN) staffing levels and mortality rates. We have hypothesised, but not previously tested, that ‘missed care’ may be the reason that low RN staffing is related to patient risk of death in hospital, and that when there are fewer registered nursing staff on duty, necessary care is less likely to be completed in full.