Sydney ICU nurses sedating patients more to manage workload as Covid outbreak strains hospitals

Exclusive: nurses say ‘hellhole’ conditions and staff shortages are forcing them to ‘knock patients out’ with increased sedative doses as the safest way to manage patient load

Overworked Sydney intensive care nurses are increasing sedative doses for some patients in order to manage their workload, claiming pressure from the Delta outbreak makes it impossible to monitor all of their charges.

Two ICU nurses from Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred and St Vincent’s hospitals have independently raised concerns that when working in non-Covid ICUs in recent weeks, the pressure that surging Covid cases had placed across the health system has left them understaffed to the point that increasing sedative dosage is the safest way they can manage their patient load.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/30/sydney-icu-nurses-sedating-patientsmore-to-manage-workload-as-covid-outbreak-strains-hospitals

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