Redeployment and changes in working patterns of healthcare workers during COVID-19 in the UK: a qualitative study
This study highlights HCWs' redeployment experiences during COVID-19, the conditions under which it occurred, and its impacts. The findings, although rooted in the pandemic, remain relevant for addressing staffing challenges in the healthcare workforce. We recommend future redeployment strategies prioritise HCWs' training and supervision, ensure strategic planning with clear communication and support for all staff, foster a sense of value among HCWs, and integrate an intersectional equity lens into workforce planning to improve staff retention and morale.
Authors
- Catherine John (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6057-2073)
- Keith R. Abrams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7557-1567)
- Manish Pareek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1521-9964)
- Ibrahim Abubakar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0370-1430)
- Rubina Reza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3257-807X)
- Edward S. Dove (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4095-3677)
- Amit Gupta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2628-3761)
- Laura J. Gray (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9284-9321)
- Sandra Simpson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9621-0699)
- Bindu Gregary (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6825-6753)
- David Ford (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6551-721X)
- Irtiza Qureshi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2273-844X)
- Martin D. Tobin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3596-7874)
- Jonathan Chaloner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9700-8284)
- Robert C. Free (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8053-435X)
- Katherine Woolf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4915-0715)
- Susie Lagrata (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5672-5540)
- Stephen Zingwe
- Louise V. Wain (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4951-1867)
- Amani Al‐Oraibi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1502-2627)
- Anna L. Guyatt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1860-6337)
- Sue Carr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3726-3560)
- Avinash Aujayeb (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0859-5550)
- Mayuri Gogoi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9946-2509)
- Kamlesh K. Khunti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2343-7099)
- I. C. McManus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3510-4814)
- Laura B Nellums (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2534-6951)
- Zainab Lal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1671-5783)
- Padmasayee Papineni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6923-1542)
- Christopher A. Martin
Institutions
- University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- University of Nottingham (GB)
- University of Leicester (GB)
- University of New Mexico (US)
- Ealing Hospital (GB)
- London North West Healthcare NHS Trust (GB)
- University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (GB)
- National Institute for Health and Care Research (GB)
- Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre (GB)
- NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (GB)
- University College London (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Health Services Research
- Published
- 2025-02-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-12389-2
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Employment and Welfare Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 16.89
Funders
- University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
- UK Research and Innovation
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- Department of Health and Social Care
- University of Leicester
- University College London
- University of Oxford
- University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
- Medical Research Council