Civil service reform
Administrative and civil service reform – health sector issues
Argues that human resources must be an integral part of planning and managing health service delivery
Authors:
J Buchan
Publisher:
Administrative and Civil Service Reform Website, World Bank, 2000
Emphasising the potentially overlooked importance of managing and administrating human resources (HR) in the health sector in this web document, James Buchan acknowledges that managing HR in health care is a complex challenge and one that has often been underestimated when reform and restructuring has been planned.
The author argues that focusing on change during health sector reform may challenge the ways that health professionals and other staff are employed and deployed, and considers whether the methods used to manage human resources in the health sector can in themselves be a major constraint or facilitator in achieving the objectives of effective delivery of health services and in meeting the aims of the health sector. Overall he suggests that the key to achieving effective HR is to recognise that it has to be an integral element of overall planning and management of the delivery of health services.
The document includes sections on developing an evidence base of HR capacity, skill mix and new workers, employee relations, pay and incentives, and gender. There are also links to other journals and a set of recommended readings.
[adapted from author]
