Phased Implementation of Three-Shift Nurse-to-Patient Ratio Sparks Call for Risk Communication from Medical Reform Group
The three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio will be implemented in phases starting May 20, 2027. A medical reform group worries about the lack of scientific evidence in policy planning and calls on the government to improve risk communication. The medical community hopes the government will enhance assistance for rural hospitals to prevent impacting public access to healthcare.
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- 📰 Published: May 13, 2026 at 18:11
- 🔍 Collected: May 13, 2026 at 18:32 (20 min after Published)
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Central News Agency, Taipei, 13th - Reporter Tseng Yi-ning. The three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio will be implemented in phases starting May 20, 2027. The Taiwan Healthcare Reform Foundation expressed concerns over the lack of scientific evidence in policy planning and urged the government to handle risk communication properly. Meanwhile, the medical community hopes the government will strengthen its support for staffing issues in rural hospitals to ensure that public access to medical care is not affected.
President Lai Ching-te announced yesterday at the joint celebration of International Nurses Day that the implementation schedule for the three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio has been adjusted to a phased rollout starting May 20, 2027. Simultaneously, a medical manpower research and improvement group will be established, with the proportion of nursing committee members being no less than one-third.
Lin Ya-hui, CEO of the Taiwan Healthcare Reform Foundation, stated in a media interview that advancing the timeline for the three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio appears to show the government's emphasis on nurses' labor rights, but it also exposes the problem of a lack of scientific evidence in policy planning.
Lin Ya-hui explained that there is a lack of transparent, evidence-based data on the effectiveness of the incentive measures for the three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio implemented since 2024, the basis for the implementation timeline, and the execution status of measures such as retention incentive mechanisms for rural nursing staff and preferential payment points for lighthouse-type community hospitals.
Recently, the medical community and community hospitals have worried that a hasty implementation of the three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio could lead to bed closures. Lin Ya-hui believes that situations like bed closures and extended waiting times existed long before the three-shift ratio was legislated, and insufficient resources in rural and remote islands are also a constant state. The government has a responsibility to inventory and disclose the implementation effectiveness after the promotion of the three-shift ratio, which hospitals at each level cannot meet the standards, and the actual occupancy rates of rural hospitals, and then propose corresponding solutions and conduct proper risk communication.
Regarding the phased implementation, Lin Ya-hui said it feels like 'old wine in a new bottle,' and the substance may not be significantly different from a full implementation in 2028.
Hung Tzu-jen, President of the Taiwan College of Healthcare Executives and Administrative Vice President of Shin Kong Hospital, pointed out that the government's declaration to shorten the implementation by one year should be supported from the medical community's standpoint. As leaders of Taiwan's healthcare system, medical centers should take the lead in implementation without closing beds to achieve a win-win situation that considers nurse retention, patient safety, and public access to care.
As for the situation in hospitals of different levels, Hung Tzu-jen stated that medical centers have an achievement rate of about 90%, which is relatively good. However, different levels and environments face different challenges. Community hospitals or rural hospitals have a lower rate of meeting the nurse-to-patient ratio, and it is a reasonable arrangement for the government to give them two years to prepare.
However, Hung Tzu-jen also pointed out that for rural hospitals, how to strengthen resource preparation and talent retention during the buffer period is a matter the government must consider. Because rural hospitals are at the most disadvantaged level in terms of economies of scale or geographical location and are at the tail end of talent acquisition, the government should increase its efforts to assist them so that the medical rights of rural residents are not affected, and the health inequality between cities and rural areas is reduced.
In addition, the National Union of Nurses' Associations ROC and the Taiwan Nurses Association issued a joint statement today, expressing the most solemn condemnation of the death threats against Chen Yu-feng, a consultant to the nurses' union, during recent discussions on related issues, calling for a return to rationality. (Editor: Wu Su-jou) 1150513
President Lai Ching-te announced yesterday at the joint celebration of International Nurses Day that the implementation schedule for the three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio has been adjusted to a phased rollout starting May 20, 2027. Simultaneously, a medical manpower research and improvement group will be established, with the proportion of nursing committee members being no less than one-third.
Lin Ya-hui, CEO of the Taiwan Healthcare Reform Foundation, stated in a media interview that advancing the timeline for the three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio appears to show the government's emphasis on nurses' labor rights, but it also exposes the problem of a lack of scientific evidence in policy planning.
Lin Ya-hui explained that there is a lack of transparent, evidence-based data on the effectiveness of the incentive measures for the three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio implemented since 2024, the basis for the implementation timeline, and the execution status of measures such as retention incentive mechanisms for rural nursing staff and preferential payment points for lighthouse-type community hospitals.
Recently, the medical community and community hospitals have worried that a hasty implementation of the three-shift nurse-to-patient ratio could lead to bed closures. Lin Ya-hui believes that situations like bed closures and extended waiting times existed long before the three-shift ratio was legislated, and insufficient resources in rural and remote islands are also a constant state. The government has a responsibility to inventory and disclose the implementation effectiveness after the promotion of the three-shift ratio, which hospitals at each level cannot meet the standards, and the actual occupancy rates of rural hospitals, and then propose corresponding solutions and conduct proper risk communication.
Regarding the phased implementation, Lin Ya-hui said it feels like 'old wine in a new bottle,' and the substance may not be significantly different from a full implementation in 2028.
Hung Tzu-jen, President of the Taiwan College of Healthcare Executives and Administrative Vice President of Shin Kong Hospital, pointed out that the government's declaration to shorten the implementation by one year should be supported from the medical community's standpoint. As leaders of Taiwan's healthcare system, medical centers should take the lead in implementation without closing beds to achieve a win-win situation that considers nurse retention, patient safety, and public access to care.
As for the situation in hospitals of different levels, Hung Tzu-jen stated that medical centers have an achievement rate of about 90%, which is relatively good. However, different levels and environments face different challenges. Community hospitals or rural hospitals have a lower rate of meeting the nurse-to-patient ratio, and it is a reasonable arrangement for the government to give them two years to prepare.
However, Hung Tzu-jen also pointed out that for rural hospitals, how to strengthen resource preparation and talent retention during the buffer period is a matter the government must consider. Because rural hospitals are at the most disadvantaged level in terms of economies of scale or geographical location and are at the tail end of talent acquisition, the government should increase its efforts to assist them so that the medical rights of rural residents are not affected, and the health inequality between cities and rural areas is reduced.
In addition, the National Union of Nurses' Associations ROC and the Taiwan Nurses Association issued a joint statement today, expressing the most solemn condemnation of the death threats against Chen Yu-feng, a consultant to the nurses' union, during recent discussions on related issues, calling for a return to rationality. (Editor: Wu Su-jou) 1150513