By Jeremy Olson

Minneapolis Star Tribune

The Minnesota Nurses Association said Monday that nurses’ complaints about unsafe hospital practices have increased sharply over the last three years, with the chief concern being delayed or incomplete care of patients due to inadequate staffing.

Whether the increase reflects growing safety problems in Minnesota hospitals, or just more reporting of existing nurse concerns, is unclear, but the study authors said the results demand attention. Complaints alleging delayed treatment rose from 1,362 in 2014 to 2,131 last year, while complaints of hospital units being significantly understaffed for safe patient care increased from 136 to 436.

“When you’re understaffed by that amount, nurses aren’t able to just ‘do the best that they can’ and ‘make ends meet’ “ for all of their patients, said Mat Keller, a regulatory specialist for the union and co-author of the report.

A spokeswoman with the Minnesota Hospital Association said the report is a “political stunt” and that nurses are required to report actual safety concerns to their supervisors and state regulators. The increases also can’t be substantiated because it is unclear whether more complaints are simply due to more patients, said Wendy Burt, an association spokesperson.