Total Quality Management and Public Health Laboratories

TQM puts special impetus on training!

Well-trained employees make more efficient team members.  Primary health care laboratory services need a workforce of competent, responsible, autonomous and flexible employees to accomplish organisational objectives and provide the quality of service required. 

Health services rely heavily on personnel, which often represent up to 75% of revenue expenditure.  Therefore, training and development of laboratory personnel is the most efficient and cost-effective way of quality improvement.

Often identified training needs for primary health care laboratory personnel are to reinforce technical skills and to acquire managerial and organisational skills.  Given that resources are limited, special efforts are required to ensure that training resources are effectively used.

Health planners have to identify training programmes with minimal financial implications and non-monetary training resources, such as existing staff skills. 

However, human resource development cannot start or be effective unless the work environment is prepared for quality management.

The Public Health Care Laboratory - 2001 © Gabriele Mallapaty