The state Department of Health cited Whidbey General Hospital for violating a state law designed to ensure nurses and hospitals work together to create nurse staffing plans that keep patients safe.

The hospital didn’t implement a committee to develop and monitor a staffing plan, the chief executive officer didn’t review the plan, and staff didn’t have a chance to present and discuss staffing issues, according to a state investigator’s report.

The investigator reviewed hospital documentation from 2013, 2014 and this year, interviewed employees and observed hospital units.

“This omission may result in nurse staffing levels that do not support safe and effective patient care,” according to the Department of Health report.

The investigation pertained to the nurse staffing committee and nothing else, according to hospital spokeswoman Trish Rose.

“(Whidbey General Hospital) was found to have missed one of the two required annual staffing committee meetings. A corrective plan was submitted and accepted by the DOH and no further action is required,” Rose said in an email response to questions.

The state investigation was in response to a complaint filed in May by the Washington State Nurses Association, which is in the midst of contract negotiations with the hospital.

A nurses association spokeswoman responded to Rose’s comments by saying the DOH findings were more than missing one annual meeting.

“The investigator’s findings clearly state that there were several lapses on the part of the hospital as regards

Safe Nurse Staffing requirements, and saying anything less is dismissive of the need to have staff nurses involved in safe staffing decisions,” said Ruth Schubert, a WSNA spokeswoman.

“It is extremely important that RNs at Whidbey General Hospital have a functioning staffing committee so that they can speak up for the needs of their patients.”

During the past year, the nurses’ union also filed at least two unrelated unfair labor practice complaints regarding the hospital with the Public Employment Relations Commission.

The association worked to get the Safe Nurse Staffing law passed in 2008.

Inadequate staffing can lead to medical errors, poorer patient outcomes and nursing injuries as well as burnout, according to the State Nurses Association.

“Nurses, who are at the bedside caring for patients, have to be part of the conversation about what patients need — and that includes how many nurses need to be on the floor to ensure their patients get quality nursing care,” Schubert said.

The investigator required the hospital to respond with a “plan of correction” that must be carried out within 60 days.