| The purpose of health manpower planning is to provide sufficient medical personnel to meet the future demand of health services. The present study analyzes India's health problems and disease patterns, identifying the current and future supply of medical personnel and the demand for their services. The following data are set forth in six tables: estimated vital statistics (crude birthrate, crude death rate, and morbidity), for 1951-2001; population per doctor, per paramedical, and per inpatient, for 1951-2001; estimated demand for doctors demand for nurses according to bed, population, doctor, and health expenditure ratios; anticipated need for, and supply of, beds 1968-69; the actual and projected amounts spent on medical and public health, 1960-81. Findings show that an inadequate supply of medical and paramedical personnel, especially nursing personnel, in India has severely hampered improvement of health services. It is hoped that this paper will be useful to decision-makers in the field of health manpower planning. |