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

The Impact of External Factors (Brexit and Covid 19) on Retention and Turnover Among Nurses and Consultants in NHS Grampian

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Turnover
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Non Clinical procedure

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 30

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Aberdeen, United Kingdom
    • Research and governance team

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• 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.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

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

Exclusion Criteria:

• Limited to Nurses and Consultants.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Other
• Time Perspectives: Cross-Sectional

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Non clinical procedure; Completion of consent form and interview session	Other: Non Clinical procedure; Non clinical procedure- Informed consent completion and interview session

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Participants will be interviewed to assess the impact of external factors on retention and turnover.	45- 60 minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Interviews with 40 participants will be analysed using NVivo qualitative software.	45-60minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: NHS Grampian
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Donald Hislop, University of Aberdeen

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 5, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 31, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): May 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 8, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 10, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): March 11, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 28, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 22, 2026
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Impact of BREXIT & COVID 19 on Retention and Turnover on NHS
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Infections; Respiratory Tract Infections; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Lung Diseases; COVID-19
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2-083-21

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No