Impact of External Factors(Brexit and Covid-19) on Retention and Turnover in the NHS

NCT05276427 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2-083-21
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Problems with retention and staff turnover in the health sectors of many western countries have a long history and have thus attracted research attention over the years. The National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom (UK) is not immune to this problem as it is reported that the NHS as an organisation is struggling to meet staffing demands particularly with its nursing and medical workforce. One of the ways to tackle this problem has been to recruit staffs from European union countries. With the exit of UK from the EU, there are concerns on the this departure on staffing. While the UK was still coming to terms with BREXIT and its effect on the NHS, the current COVID 19 pandemic struck and has intensified workload and demands on the health sector, particularly the NHS. As a result of this, many NHS employees believe more should be done to show they are valued and appreciated for all their hard work. Turnover is already high among clinical occupations in the NHS as people leave for various reasons. It is therefore important to study the combined effect of these external factors (BREXIT and COVID 19) on turnover and retention in the NHS Grampian. It is hoped that this study will be beneficial to NHS Grampian management and policy makers as it will aid early identification of intention to leave and possibly enhance staff retention. The study will be carried out in Scotland and will be limited to NHS Grampian. Nurses and consultants who have been in employed in NHS Grampian prior to BREXIT and COVID 19 will be invited participate. Participants will voluntarily take part in a semi structured interview which may last for about 45 to 60 minutes. The project is self-funded for the award of a PhD in management studies.

Conditions

Turnover

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Participants will be interviewed to assess the impact of external factors on retention and turnover.

  45- 60 minutes

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Interviews with 40 participants will be analysed using NVivo qualitative software.

  45-60minutes

Study Arms (1)

Non clinical procedure

Completion of consent form and interview session

Other: Non Clinical procedure

Interventions

Non Clinical procedure OTHER

Non clinical procedure- Informed consent completion and interview session

Non clinical procedure

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Nurses who have been trained in different aspects of nursing such as paediatric, neonatal, critical care, surgical, emergency care etc and consultants who have specialist training in specific aspect of medicine who have had to deal with the impact and pressures of COVID 19 and BREXIT will be invited to participate in the study.

You may qualify if:

• Must be employed in NHS Grampian prior to January 2020.
• Must be a Nurse or Consultant

You may not qualify if:

• Limited to Nurses and Consultants.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• NHS Grampian: lead

Study Sites (1)

Research and governance team

Aberdeen, United Kingdom

Location

Study Officials

• Donald Hislop

  University of Aberdeen

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: OTHER
• Time Perspective: CROSS SECTIONAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER GOV
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 8, 2022
• First Posted: March 11, 2022
• Study Start: April 5, 2022
• Primary Completion: May 31, 2025
• Study Completion: May 31, 2025
• Last Updated: April 28, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

GB (1)