Method of Patient Classification System in obstetric staff scheduling. I. Criteria and categories of care.

The lack of verified Patient Classification System methods for obstetric care provided incentives for the development of own proposal, which would be adjusted to the conditions in Polish delivery rooms and the mothers' demand for these services. Four main criteria of obstetric care were adopted which corresponded to the subsequent stages of labour. These main criteria were ascribed more than a dozen detailed criteria concerning the specific character of obstetric care, as well as general nursing care. The chart containing the criteria of care facilitated the classification of women in labour into individual categories of obstetric care. Three categories of care were distinguished: Category I of minimum obstetric care, Category II of moderate obstetric care, and Category III of intensified obstetric care.