Objective:

To research the current manpower plans in place by the government to address nursing shortages in the healthcare system in the Irish context as a priority and with comparator countries if insufficient research can be found on the Irish approach. Methodology: Content Analysis of Government and HSE Documents, Press Releases, and Newspapers. Please let me know the cost and feasibility of meeting the timeline. Thank you!

The world has entered a critical period for human resources for health. The scarcity of qualified health personnel, including nurses, is being highlighted as one of the biggest obstacles to achieving health system effectiveness. In January 2004, the High Level Forum on the Health Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reported, ‘There is a human resources crisis in health, which must be urgently addressed’ (High Level Forum on the Health MDGs, 2004, p. 4). Later in the same year, the Joint Learning Initiative reported that ‘There is a massive global shortage of health workers’ (Joint Learning Initiative 2004; executive summary, p. 3). In 2006, the World Health Organisation devoted the whole of the World Health Report to the negative impact that human resources shortages was having on global health care (WHO 2006).