Proportion of tasks to be safely delegated from neonatal nurses to NHCAs
| Task | % of nurse FTE | % of task delegated to NHCA | % of nurse FTE delegated to NHCA | ||||
| Standard care | Intermediate care | Intensive care | Standard care | Intermediate care | Intensive care | ||
| Administrative duties,for example, allocating duties, billing, attending meetings, collecting or ordering supplies and so on | 0.051 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Admission and discharge of the babies into and out of the neonatal unit | 0.060 | 0.85 | 0.42(0.08) | 0.22(0.04) | 0.05 | 0.02 | 0.01 |
| Attending continuous medical education (CME) meetings | 0.047 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Attending ward rounds and doing follow-up of patient care for the babies,for example, booking tests for babies | 0.061 | 0.85 | 0.02(0.01) | 0.03(0.02) | 0.05 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Cleaning and preparing feeding equipment/utensils for the babies | 0.046 | 0.85 | 0.74(0.07) | 0.59(0.09) | 0.04 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| Conducting hygiene and infection control activities within the unit,for example, hand washing, proper disposal of waste | 0.059 | 0.85 | 0.71(0.07) | 0.58(0.09) | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.03 |
| Counselling mother on KMC and breastfeeding and communicating to mothers on baby's condition/care | 0.065 | 0.85 | 0.44(0.07) | 0.34(0.07) | 0.06 | 0.03 | 0.02 |
| Dealing with emergencies,for example, resuscitating a baby | 0.085 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Documenting care and treatment for the babies in the unit | 0.077 | 0.85 | 0.45(0.09) | 0.27(0.07) | 0.07 | 0.03 | 0.02 |
| Ensuring the babies are comfortable,that is, bathing babies, preparing their linen and making their beds | 0.054 | 0.85 | 0.74(0.05) | 0.33(0.09) | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.02 |
| Handover of the babies and equipment during shift changes | 0.057 | 0.85 | 0.46(0.09) | 0.33(0.07) | 0.05 | 0.03 | 0.02 |
| Monitoring input/output of fluids and feeds for the babies in the unit requiring it | 0.061 | 0.00 | 0.45(0.10) | 0.25(0.08) | 0.00 | 0.03 | 0.02 |
| Preparing and administering medication and intravenous fluids for the babies in the unit | 0.074 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Preparing feeds and feeding the babies via cup or NG tube for the babies requiring it | 0.057 | 0.85 | 0.47(0.09) | 0.35(0.08) | 0.05 | 0.03 | 0.02 |
| Teaching, supervising and mentoring students and other staff | 0.069 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Vital sings monitoring and regular assessment of condition of the babies in the unit | 0.077 | 0.85 | 0.29(0.06) | 0.13(0.05) | 0.07 | 0.02 | 0.01 |
| Total | 1.000 | 0.49 | 0.31 | 0.20 | |||
In brackets are presented the SEs of the mean estimates elicited during the experts workshop; the proportion of a nurse FTE is derived from a survey and validated using expert opinion.
FTE, full-time equivalents; KMC, kangaroo mother care; NG, nasogastric tube; NHCAs, neonatal healthcare assistants.