An economic model for nurse manpower planning in the Caribbean: Part II--Strategies

Figure 5 illustrates the key ingredients of manpower planning. Whatever model or framework that have or will be considered for the Region must be based on cost containment necessitated by the scarcity of resources. Since the health sector is labour intensive, health manpower is critical for its successful functioning. Approximately 65-70% of the Ministries of Health's recurrent budget is allocated for health personnel. Budgetary restrictions as a result of economic downturn have therefore impacted severely on the manpower resources resulting in a decreased supply of all categories of health workers in the health service. Even the most minimum level of services is therefore jeopardized. Most countries of the Region are at present suffering from a net loss in most of the health professional groups and some countries are without auxiliary groups. In providing quality care, certain questions need to be answered. In the light of decreasing economic resources and accompanying decreasing nurse manpower resources: 1. What degree of substitutability between categories of health manpower generally and specifically, between different categories of nurses will affect their efficient use and provide quality care? 2. What are the least cost combinations of nurse manpower that will ensure greater productivity and quality care? 3. What are the policy restrictions that may hinder substitutability? 4. What are the market forces that affect the demand and supply of nurses? In all of the above, it is necessary to understand that the basis of any nurse manpower policy and plan and the economic analysis of these is guided by the demand for health care and services as well as economics within a given country.