Determining Staffing Levels and Mix of Ucmb Affiliated Hospitals

All over the world, the cost of heath care delivery is increasing. This has resulted into health sector reforms calling for cost containment and quality improvements (Buchan, 2000). Healthcare delivery is unique in that it is labor intensive with expenditure on human resources accounting for 60-80% of the total recurrent costs (Shipp, 1998). The levels and skill mix of the staff employed that is , the numbers and combination staff cadres, therefore, is a major determinant of the cost and quality of services. This makes it a potential area for efficiency gains and quality improvements. Determining the right staffing level and skill mix is hence a critical component of successful and efficient health care delivery (Buchan, 2000).