Cost Containment in Nursing

Introduction The cost of health care in Trinidad and Tobago in steadily increasing according to the Budget Highlights 2011/2012, $4.7 billion dollars is to be projected for Health Care. As a Registered Nurse working in the health care institutions of Trinidad and Tobago, as discussed in Ellis and Hartley 2010, you are expected to understand the issues surrounding cost and become an active participant in managing health care resources. This health care resource comprises buildings, equipment, supplies, personnel and time as expressed by Ellis and Hartley, (2010). All members of the health care team must become active champions of cost containment and conscious consumers of resources in order to maximize their usage. (Ellis, 2010) As a staff nurse it is impossible to control all the elements that impact health care costs but it is important to understand the basic tenants of costs and ways in which you as a health care provider are able to save and not waste valuable resources, but still provide high standards of quality nursing care. In order for the nurse to be an advocate for costs containment he/she should know how much things cost, how much is paid for supplies and equipment. How these equipment are procured for use in the department and also the proper use, handling and storage of all special equipment. According to Ellis and Hartley, (2010), nurses are directly involved with control utilization of resources for each patient therefore this knowledge of the cost of supplies and equipment raises the consciousness of the nurse to use resources adequately and efficiently and it also enables the nurse to recognize when the supplies are faulty, inadequate, or in need of repairs and may jeopardize or compromise patient safety. As a staff nurse in the Operating Theatre some ways in which I see that costs can be curtailed are as follows;
Proper use of Medical /Surgical Equipment
The operating room is filled with high-tech medical and surgical equipment and all

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