Allied Health Staff Perceptions of Workforce Staffing Models Across 7 Days and After-Hours in a Major Metropolitan Health Service.

OBJECTIVE

Weekend admissions to hospital are associated with worse patient outcomes. Casualisation of the weekend workforce and reduced access to allied health (AH) services may contribute to this phenomenon. Alternative AH staffing models have been proposed. This study explored the perceptions of AH staff regarding weekend and after-hour staffing models.

METHODS

Mixed-methods study including descriptive and thematic analysis of survey and focus group data. Participants were AH staff and stakeholders from a major Victorian (Australian) public health service.

RESULTS

160 staff (21%) completed the online survey. Three focus groups (16 participants) were conducted. Most AH disciplines used a casual staffing model on weekends. Most survey respondents (79%) thought a staffing model across 7 days would improve patient outcomes. In the focus groups, staff reported that the existing weekend staffing model was inadequate and could be optimised by weekday staff working across 7 days. For AH staff to work across 7 days, they emphasised the importance of planning and flexibility to enable a healthy work/life balance.

CONCLUSIONS

AH staff and stakeholders were dissatisfied with the casual AH work¬force model on weekends. Sustainable AH staffing models across 7 days are becoming increasingly important as healthcare resources become strained due to increasing demands.