Appropriate Staffing

Quality care is a varied concept. It can be achieved by doing the right thing routinely and safely to guarantee the best possible clinical and patient satisfaction (Brady et al., 2010). Quality care comprises efficiency, record management, customer service, safety, health outcomes and best practice (The Quality and Patient Safety Commission, 2008). It is central to the nursing process. Provision of quality care can be influenced by many factors, including the competency of healthcare professionals such as nursing leaders or managers. A recent increase in accountability and expectations of healthcare service users has resulted in a growing awareness of the procedures and systems focused on bettering patient safety and quality of care (Brady

Quality care will be examined through three components; management, quality improvement and information management systems. Under these headings one procedure or system that can influence the quality of care given, will be critically discussed.

Management

Staffing

Nursing management incorporates leadership functions such as governance and decision-making along with management processes like planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling of resources to attain organisational goals in an effective and efficient manner (Daft, 2008). Determining satisfactory staffing levels is a key area in the management of a health service, and can have great implication on cost and quality of patient care. Appropriate staffing involves careful consideration of staff numbers (Hughes et al., 2013). Staffing levels and care quality can be seen as two sides of the same coin. Hughes et al. (2013) states that to provide quality care there should be enough members of staff to keep patients or clients safe and to meet all their

Nurse Managers and leaders should always strive to improve the quality of care in the clinical environment. One of the most basic ways in which quality can be maintained and improved is through clinical audits. A clinical audit is a quality improvement process that aims to improve the quality of patient care and outcomes (Health Service Executive (HSE), 2008, Brady et al., 2010). Clinical audits ensure the quality of care meets defined standards. The results of clinical audits can have a great influence on the standards of quality care as they often inspire the implementation of changes in clinical practice (Patel,