Quantifying health workers’ retention in primary care, its variability and association with outcomes University of Manchester

There is an ongoing crisis in the recruitment of GPs, and similar workforce concerns have been raised around general practice nurses. Recent promises of more GPs and medical graduates will not be enough to cover the emerging shortfall.

In light of recruitment problems, it is becoming increasingly important to retain existing practitioners. However, reports have raised concerns about retention trends, and Brexit may also have an impact, with primary care in England relying heavily on overseas-qualified GPs and nurses.

Improving retention rates will improve quality of care for patients and continuity of care, which is associated with better health outcomes and higher levels of patient satisfaction. However, very little is currently known about how retention rates have changed over time and how rates vary across the country.

This project aims to close the retention research gap using databases of routinely collected administrative data. It will examine retention for two key primary care professions: GPs and nurses.

Through this research, the project team aims to provide a blueprint of the use of existing databases in investigating retention and examine the quality of existing data. Metrics of retention will be defined and predictors of retention identified, including quantifying the role of external factors.

Retention levels and trends will be quantified, nationally and regionally, and the team will examine the association between retention and future patient outcomes. Regions and practices with characteristics that make them particularly vulnerable to retention problems will also be identified. All of this information will help policy-makers and primary care managers begin to address retention problems.

Contact details

For more information about this project, please contact Evangelos Kontopantelis, Professor in Data Science and Health Services Research, University of Manchester.