Abstract
To assess staff resources for care we performed a time study of nurses and care workers who assisted the patients in taking meals at lunch time in institutions for severe motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID). The subject group included 178 patients in 5 wards from 3 institutions for SMID. Most patients suffered from cerebral palsy and average age was 36.3±14.4 years old. The capacity of the ward was 40 to 50 patients. Among the subject group 128 took meals with full assistance, while others took meals with partial assistance including supervision. Eating time of the patients with full and partial assistance was 23.37±13.26 (n = 128) and 32.29±20.14 (n = 50) minutes, respectively. Visualized flow of eating assistance revealed staff efficiency. In most wards staff members began to assist patients to eat one after another and performed two rounds of assistance during the allotted time. The total time designated for lunch by the wards with capacity of 50 patients ranged from 56 to 146 minutes, and the number of staff was 15 to 18.
