Shortage of Health Care Staff, Research Paper Example

Shortages of doctors and nurses have been a common occurrence in most health care facilities. Equally important is the less documented and publicized acute shortage of other members of staff in health care. Most health care institutions have reported high vacancy rates in pharmacy, laboratory technologists, radiology technologists, housekeepers and the maintenance staff among others. It is important to appreciate the fact that every worker in a health care setting plays a very important role in health care system. Shortage of staff in specific areas of health care creates problems with significant consequences to other areas.

The shortage in health care staff is a reflection of problems in recruitment as well as retention which are further attributed to the level of job satisfaction and poor morale in the workplace. The shortages create probable situations of poor and substandard delivery of care to the patient, a situation that is dangerous to the safety of the citizens. The shortages also have significant implications in the working environment and the highest skilled and experienced workers have poor retention leading to a high turnover that is costly and inefficient in service delivery.

Staffing shortages in health care systems also compromise health care quality apart from exposing the patients to high risks. Shortage generally decreases the quality of work and constrains the potential ability of the workers to deliver maximum service.  To solve this problem of staff shortage, it is the duty of the health facility management to identify potential and amicable solutions to the problem. This may include implementation of the highest ratio of professional-to-patient, improvement of health coverage, increasing the salaries, more opportunities for further education and training, additional support staff hiring and increasing the voice of workers and participatory decision making.

References

Pogge, T., (2005). World Poverty & Human Rights. Ethics & International Affairs, 19-1-: 1-7.

Sullivan, L. W. & Mittman, S. I., (2010). The state of diversity in Health Professionals a Century after Flexner. Academic Medicine, 85-2- 246-53.