The Ministry of Health and Welfare awarded a total of NT$547 million (US$18.6 million) to hospitals that have met the nurse-to-patient ratios set for the three-shift nursing system, amid a push to handle a nationwide shortage of healthcare workers.
The ministry in a news release said that 363 hospitals received money for achieving the preliminary targets of the government program to promote efficiency in nurse rotation systems used in urgent care.
Institutions that have met the requisite nurse-to-patient ratios in two or three shifts would respectively receive an amount equal to 3 percent or 7 percent of their income derived from hospitalization and care, it said.
Photo courtesy of Cheng ying-gui
This reward stemmed from Phase 1 of a program to reform the allocation of available nursing staff in hospitals’ urgent care departments, launched in March last year, the ministry said.
Phase 2, starting next month, would require hospitals to meet targets for all shifts to receive the reward, which is increased to 10 percent of the institution’s hospitalization and care-derived income, it said.
The ministry’s budget for Phase 2 reward money totaled NT$1 billion, it said, adding that hospitals would be assessed and awarded each quarter.
Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taoyuan, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Tri-Service General Hospital in Taipei and Changhua Christian Hospital received the largest sums, it said.
These hospitals — granted rewards ranging from NT$40.54 million to NT$18.69 million — were all large medical centers targeted by the program as standard bearers for the rest of the healthcare sector, it said.
Twenty-seven medical institutions failed to meet Phase 1 standards and received no reward, the ministry said.
They include the ministry-run Taipei Hospital, Shuang Ho Hospital in Taipei, Tainan Hospital, Miaoli Hospital, Changhua Hospital and Feng Yuan Hospital in Taichung, it said.
They additionally include Yuan’s General Hospital in Kaohsiung, Saint Paul’s Hospital in Taoyuan and Asia University Hospital in Taichung, which are not run by the ministry, it said.
Hospitals received nurse-to-patient targets from the program depending on their rank in the three-tier health provider system of medical centers, regional hospitals and local hospitals, Department of Nursing and Healthcare Director Chen Ching-mei (陳青梅) said.
Taiwan boasts 20 medical centers, 80 regional hospitals and 300 local hospitals that provide urgent care, she added.
Regional hospitals face the worst of the nurse shortages, especially in night shift staff, Chen said, adding that a nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:11 and 1:13 was typical of early and late night shifts respectively.
Many regional hospitals could only reach the mandated staffing level target for one of their shifts, she said.
The money awarded to hospitals must be utilized on nurses and authorized, personnel-related purposes, such as retention programs, she said.
The ministry conducts spot inspections to ensure hospitals spend the funds in the manner specified, Chen added.
Taiwanese hospitals that met the program’s Phase 1 targets have increased from 50 percent in March last year to 60 percent in March, while the number of people working as nurses increased by 1,500, she said.
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