Manpower Planning as a Prerequisite for Health Manpower Development

Abstract

The aim of manpower planning is to ensure that the right quantities of appropriate personnel are provided at the right time and proper place for the delivery of services. Since health care delivery is labour‐intensive, heath manpower planning becomes critical in order to use scarce resources judiciously. Planning must take into account the changing roles of health care delivery and health manpower development. A plea is made that manpower planners not only develop plans but also play an active role in the implementation of plans and in coordinating the different elements of manpower development — planning, production and management of manpower. Training in manpower planning, which has been relatively ignored until now, is emphasised and it is proposed that not only should serving personnel be trained but also that elements of planning should be introduced into undergraduate curricula for health professionals.