TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Legislative Yuan on Friday passed amendments to the Medical Care Act that make nurse-to-patient ratios a legal requirement and add penalties for hospitals that fail to meet them.
CNA reported that the amendments answer years of calls from nurses for safer staffing levels and lighter workloads. The health ministry will first use staffing targets it introduced in March 2024 and review them every three years based on patient safety and nurses’ labor rights.
Hospitals that fail to meet the nurse-to-patient ratios will face fines based on their level: NT$50,000 (US$1,594) to NT$250,000 for district hospitals, NT$200,000 to NT$1 million for regional hospitals, and NT$1 million to NT$2 million for medical centers. Hospitals that are fined three times and still fail to improve could be ordered to suspend operations for up to one year.
The targets vary by hospital level and shift. Medical centers must aim for one nurse for every six patients on day shifts, nine on evening shifts, and 11 on night shifts, per UDN.
Regional hospitals must aim for one nurse for every seven patients during the day, 11 in the evening, and 13 at night. District hospitals must aim for one nurse for every 10 patients during the day, 13 in the evening, and 15 at night, per Liberty Times.
Before the amendments, hospitals that met the staffing targets could receive incentive payments. However, the ministry had no legal basis to punish hospitals that failed to meet them.
