[Distribution of human resources in 8 general hospitals in São Paulo]

Technological development and the appearance of new medical specialties have led to increased division of labor in hospitals, with the resultant creation of subareas. Therefore, the redistribution of human resources in hospitals has become an important aim in order to achieve efficiency. On the basis of interviews conducted between May and October 1993 with the directors and superintendents of eight hospitals in São Paulo, Brazil, this study describes and analyzes the distribution of human resources in four broad areas: infrastructure, clinico-surgical inpatient care, the complementary area of diagnostics and therapeutics, and emergency and outpatient care. The study also analyzed the ratio of employees per bed, besides outlining a comparison of public and private hospitals. The results revealed that, on average, the ratio of employees to beds was 6.8. The proportional distribution of employees by broad areas was found to be 46.9% in infrastructure, 10.7% in diagnostics and therapeutics, 32.0% in inpatient care, and 10.3% in outpatient/emergency care.