Objective  To understand the basic public health service (BPHS) tasks and workload of the township hospitals in Sichuan Province and to provide empirical evidence for improving the allocation of human resources (HR) and the quality of BPHS in township hospitals.

  Methods  Retrospective survey was conducted to collect information regarding the actual working hours per unit time of service of BPHS. Information on the service volume and unit service time of BPHS tasks for 2018 was collected in 7 township hospitals in an economically developed area and an area of moderate economic development. Estimated HR required to cover the BPHS tasks was calculated based on the survey data of actual work time.

  Results  The time required for the basic units of various BPHS tasks varied greatly. The top four most time-consuming services showing consistent results in the the two regions were health education, health supervision and coordination, management of children aged 0-6 and maternal care management. Institutions in the area of moderate economic development reported higher per capita service volume in the registration of children for vaccination, management of hypertension, and health supervision and coordination than those in the economically developed area, but lower service volume for other services. There is a shortage of full-time staffs in both areas.

  Conclusion  Differences in the service volume of BPHS exist in regions of different levels of economic development. The shortage in HR could be related to the lower quality and volume of the service. Comprehensive exploration of policies to recruit and retain competent personnel, the strengthening of grassroots professional training, and optimization of information technology will help improve the competence and quality of grassroots services.