Safe Hours Save Lives

Heart disease, drowsy driving & patient safety: study reveals grim impact of nurse fatigue

A report release in January 2024 by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) and its counterparts, sheds light on the dire impact excessively long working hours has on nurses and their patients. Safe Hours Save Lives reveals a critical need to address nurse fatigue and outlines key recommendations to mitigate fatigue-related risks.

While this information is alarming, sadly it is not news to nurses on the frontline.

“Nurses are working more overtime than ever before, enduring shifts as long as 24 hours, as they try to meet the needs of their patients amidst a crisis-level staffing shortage,” explained Linda Silas, CFNU president.

The report, authored by researcher Dr. Heather Scott-Marshall, examined three outcomes of occupational fatigue: risks associated with patient safety, risks of workplace conflicts and lateral violence, and risks posed to nurses’ overall health and well-being.

“Fatigue is not only associated with long-term health risks such as heart disease and diabetes; research also shows that the effects of fatigue are similar to those of alcohol intoxication,” explained Scott-Marshall. “In safety-sensitive industries, this means that fatigue poses a significant safety risk. Pilots, for example, are subject to regulations that limit their on-duty period to a maximum of 13 hours. No such safeguards exist for nurses in Canada.”

Fatigue is also linked to work-related injuries in nurses, costing our health care system nearly a billion dollars annually. Troublingly, there is a growing body of evidence linking fatigue to safety incidents in health care.

“You’re working with all these meds, and yet you can’t even drive yourself home… you don’t even know if your car is moving toward the middle of the road,” shared one nurse interviewed as a part of the study.

Safe Hours Save Lives outlines key recommendations to reduce fatigue-related risks, including:

• Stopping the practice of mandating nurses to work overtime.
• Establishing legislation and regulatory limits on consecutive work hours for nurses.
• Adopting international standards for managing risks related to fatigue, including measures such
• as designated napping spaces, fresh food for nurses on extended or overnight shifts, and providing nurses’ transportation home post-shift.
• Employer implementation of formal fatigue risk management programs.

“Fatigue has real consequences, and we must cultivate environments that support the safety of nurses and their patients which is just as important as the safety of pilots and passengers,” said Silas. “Today, nurses are pushing for fatigue to have accountability, making nurse and patient safety a fundamental obligation. We owe it to our nurses and our patients. It’s a matter of safety and respect.”