The impact of decentralisation, socioeconomic changes and healthcare reforms in Indonesia on type and distribution of healthcare providers and quality‐of‐care has been unclear. We examined workforce trends for healthcare facilities from 1993 to 2007 using the Indonesian Family Life Surveys. Each included a sample of public and private healthcare facilities, used standardised interviews for numbers and composition of staffing, and quality‐of‐care vignettes. There was an increase in multiprovider facilities and shift in profile of solo providers—increasing proportions of midwives and drop in doctors in rural areas (including facilities with doctors) and nurses in urban areas. Quality‐of‐care scores were low, particularly for nurses as solo providers. Despite increased numbers of healthcare workers and growth of the private sector, outer Java‐Bali and rural areas continued to be disadvantaged in workforce capacity and quality‐of‐care. The results have implications for accreditation and in‐service training requirements, the legal status of nurses and private sector regulation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.