NZNO champions the use of Care Capacity Demand Management (CCDM) in our hospitals. CCDM tools and processes uses patient acuity data to determine how many staff hours are needed for each shift. CCDM is the first of its kind and is available in some, but not all DHBs, and in certain wards and units of these DHBs. CCDM results in safer patient care and a better working environment for staff. CCDM enables staffing levels (capacity) to meet incoming need (demand).

To find out more about CCDM, see: http://www.nzno.org.nz/get_involved/campaigns/care_point/what_is_ccdm

 This blog is by Lisa Taylor, Registered Nurse and NZNO Delegate

‘It’s the challenge that gets me out of bed in the mornings, I love my job caring for patients and there’s always so much to learn.

I am a nurse working in an acute surgical ward with a high acuity. Many patients every day go to and from surgery, ED, ICU, other hospitals and home. We have a big turnover of patients.

Regardless of patient numbers, in the last two years we have gone from having a Care Assistant and a Health Care Assistant on each morning shift, to having one or the other but not both. Having only one out of the two assistants has resulted in delays in patient care.

As an example, the more specialised Registered Nurse tasks such as clinical assessments and complex wound dressings are often delayed so we can attend to patients more ‘immediate’ needs, such as toileting and mobilising. This can result in ‘care rationing’ for this really important patient care.

If we were to have a Care Capacity Demand Management (CCDM) Work Analysis completed on our ward, which calculates in detailed the work that is completed by our nursing team, we would be able to show who was doing what work and when that work was being done. Work analysis is really specific and gives us the opportunity to analyse the information.

We use CCDM Response Management tools within our hospital and in our ward. This is a programme telling us when we should increase or decrease each type of nursing team staff rostered on as patient demand goes up and down outside of what we have planned. However, when we do go into yellow – which means we need assistance as the patient care requirements outweigh the staff resource on the ward – we are often told there is no more help. This is a difficult situation, as the Clinical Nurse Managers and the Duty Nurse Managers do want to help, but when there is no one to help, there is nothing they can do.

If health funding was appropriate, it’s more likely there would be better help available for our patients. Having confidence that the resources were available to provide the right care at the right time would make for a safer workplace for patients and staff.

TrendCare, the patient acuity system that shows how much nursing care each patient will probably need, has made a difference to us on our ward. We understand that we often have a ‘negative variance’. This means patient care requirements outweigh the staff resource on the ward. We are working to further improve our data. I feel optimistic that once the data is absolute correct we will be able to do the calculations for how many full time equivalent staff we need, and it will be accurate.

TrendCare data is really powerful in getting the right staffing, but the staff also actually need to be available. If health funding was increased we would always be able to have the right staff, at the right time, delivering the right care, all the time.’