The government has influenced greatly the current trend being experienced in the health care sector regarding shortage in the number of staff. In the United States, the introduction of the equal budget act led to a decrease in the funding which was being granted to the health sector which in turn made the running of these institutions to become costly. An increase in cost of running the health care sector led to downsizing by health providers and deterioration of the working conditions of the health workers making this profession undesirable to join.
Such government policies around the world have led to negative impacts on the staffing capacity of most health care centers (Heskett, 2007, para 3). Business activities have also contributed to an increase in demand for health care services. Business activities have increased the health risks of people in the world leading to emergence of new and complex conditions requiring special medical attention. By the fact that most of the people are uninsured in most parts of the world, this has worsened the situation. Most people seek medical attention yet they are unable to raise the required fees for attendance.
This has cost the health sector a lot of money thus increasing their running cost. An increase in the running cost has prompted a reduction of the health care providers or workers thus leading to shortages in the workforce (Ginty, 2004, para 7). One of the major effects that the health care providers face from decreased number of staff is that the quality of services which they provide has deteriorated especially with the increase demand for health care services. As noted earlier, the practicing nurses and doctors have greatly reduced thus leading to overworking and overburdening of the already existing nurses.
Due to fatigue and tiredness, these nurses make serious mistakes some of which result to death of the victims. The health care providers are later blamed for such mistakes which can cost them a lot of money. Due to overworking, the health care providers may also develop complication ranging from back pains to work related stress posing high risks to their health (Eagleton, n. d, para 8-9). Due to the shortages in the number of health care specialists, hiring of qualified nurses and doctors has become a costly exercise making most health care providers opt for the lesser qualified individuals.
This not only affects the performance of the health care center but also poses greater risks to both the providers and those who are being offered the services. Some private health care providers have also recorded lower revenues due to changes in the government policies which have made running a health care centre more costly. However, most private health care providers have benefited from the deterioration in the public health sector in that most of people prefer to attend private hospitals which are deemed to be more effective than public hospitals (Feldstein, 2004, pp 98).
Future trend on staffing shortages in the health care sector The health care sector is bound to face serious challenges as far as staffing is concerned if no corrective measures are taken by the government as well as the society. As noted earlier, the new nurses or doctors who are being trained are few and thus cannot meet the future demands of the health care sector services. With the increase in globalization and pollution, the health of individuals is at risk which may raise the health demands of individuals. The health sector on the other hand may not meet the demands of the society.
An increase in the demand of health care services in the future will only lead to an increase in the shortages of staff as more people demand their services while on the other hand those being trained for the same are less. Staffing shortage problem is bound to persist in the future especially in the United States where most of its practicing and qualified nurses are expected to retire by the year 2020 (Heskett, 2007, para 6). As the staffing shortages persist in the future, hiring of qualified nurses and doctors is bound to be become more expensive which might result to recruitment of under qualified health care workers.
This would pose great danger to the general citizens as substandard services would be offered. The public health care sector will also suffer in that most individuals will prefer to attend private health care sectors. Despite the fact that United States is the largest employer of nurses in the world, the nursing schools are barely enough to cater for the countries need. Most countries are importing nurses from Newzeland and other such countries indicating there is a dire need for more nurses. In the future, this demand for nurses is expected to increase leading to higher rates of shortages (Heskett, 2007, para 8).
Reference:
Eagleton, E. (n. d): Current Employment Trends in Health care. Retrieved on 6th may 2009 from, http://www. helium. com/items/735717-current-trends-in-healthcare. Feldstein, P. J. (2004): Health Care Economics (Edition 6). ISBN 1401859798, Thomson Delmar Learning Ginty, M. M. (2004): Nursing Shortage Threatens Health Care. Retrieved on 6th may 2009 from, http://www. womensenews. org/article. cfm/dyn/aid/2078/context/archive. Heskett, J. (2007): What Is the Government’s Role in U. S. Healthcare? Retrieved on 6th may 2009 from, http://hbswk. hbs. edu/item/5645. html.