Mass. nurses frustrated over care quality, staffing levels

BOSTON (SHNS) - A union survey found the vast majority of registered nurses in Massachusetts feel the quality of hospital care is declining, continuing a post-pandemic trend that most nurses feel Beacon Hill has failed to address.

In a Beacon Research survey of 505 registered nurses commissioned by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, nearly eight in 10 respondents said hospital care has worsened in the past two years, and roughly half said care has gotten "much worse."

The 78% of nurses dismayed by care quality actually reflects improvement -- the rate peaked at 85% in the spring of 2023 -- but remains above pre-pandemic levels. In April 2019, 39% of nurses said they felt hospital care had gotten worse over the past two years. The rate was 27% in 2018, according to Beacon Research.

Survey authors said understaffing and excessive caseloads remain a problem for many nurses, describing a "22-point jump compared to before the pandemic" in the share of nurses who say they do not have enough time to provide quality care (now 67%).

Nearly seven in 10 nurses described workplace violence and abuse as a serious problem, up five percentage points from last year's survey and 27 points above March 2021.

Health care reforms are a tricky arena for lawmakers to navigate. The Legislature and Gov. Maura Healey last year enacted hospital oversight and financial reporting laws and a prescription drug cost control measure.

Pollsters said 77% of survey respondents feel that Beacon Hill is not hearing and acting on staffing concerns raised by nurses.

"Post-pandemic, nurses are experiencing acute problems with the Massachusetts healthcare system – unsafe staffing, workplace violence, and care access – that have grown worse, threatening patient safety and the health of the nursing profession," MNA President Katie Murphy said in a statement alongside the survey results.

The Mass. Nurses Association continues to push for legislation (H 2448 / S 1522) that would limit the number of patients for which a single nurse could care at one time.

Voters resoundingly rejected a similar idea in a 2018 ballot question, with 70% opposed. In 2014, the threat of a ballot question led to the Legislature and Gov. Deval Patrick agreeing on a law setting nurse staffing levels inside intensive care units at one nurse per one patient, depending on the stability of the patient.

The union will host a virtual event Tuesday to discuss its "2025 State of Nursing in Massachusetts" survey.