Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Oct;7(3):e71-e76.
doi: 10.7861/fhj.2020-0111.

Improving wellbeing among UK doctors redeployed during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ryan Faderani  1   2 , Massimo Monks  2   3 , David Peprah  4   2 , Amy Colori  4 , Lowri Allen  5 , Alexander Amphlett  3 , Martin Edwards  1
Affiliations

Improving wellbeing among UK doctors redeployed during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ryan Faderani et al. Future Healthc J. 2020 Oct.

Abstract

Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHS has implemented significant workforce changes to manage the increased and changing demand on healthcare services. We aimed to investigate the impact of redeployment on the wellbeing of doctors as well as highlighting ways to improve.

Methods: We conducted a survey at three NHS trusts over 2 weeks asking redeployed doctors to rate their morale, work-life balance and perceived support and safety, and to voice concerns.

Results: 172 redeployed doctors responded to the survey. 66.3% felt confident in their new role, 65.7% felt satisfied or neutral with their new role and only 31.4% felt stressed at work. 66.3% felt valued by their team and 79% felt valued by the general public. 64.5% had noticed an increase in the length of breaks and 89% felt their rotas provided sufficient respite. 55.2% did not feel confident in the guidance from Public Health England/Wales on using personal protective equipment (PPE) and 54.7% did not feel safe while wearing PPE. The three most common concerns were training opportunities, PPE and family health.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that morale is higher than might be expected with doctors feeling valued, confident and well rested in their new role. Concerns about training opportunities/career progression, PPE and family safety need to be addressed.

Keywords: COVID-19; Wellbeing; morale; redeployed; training.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig 1.
Fig 1.
Areas of redeployment.
Fig 2.
Fig 2.
Morale of redeployed doctors. Doctors were asked to what extent they agreed with the statements given. Responses were recorded on an ordinal Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree). CAV = Cardiff and Vale University Health Board; RFL = Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust; UCLH = University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Fig 3.
Fig 3.
Change in breaks after redeployment. Doctors were asked whether the duration of their breaks increased or decreased compared to previous rotations. CAV = Cardiff and Vale University Health Board; RFL = Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust; UCLH = University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Fig 4.
Fig 4.
Main concerns of redeployed doctors.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tanne JH, Hayasaki E, Zastrow M, et al. Covid-19: How doctors and healthcare systems are tackling coronavirus worldwide. BMJ 2020;368:m1090. - PubMed
    1. Ferguson NM, Laydon D, Nedjati-Gilani G, et al. Impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to reduce COVID-19 mortality and healthcare demand. Imperial College London, 2020. Available from www.imperial.ac.uk/mrc-global-infectious-disease-analysis/covid-19/repor.... - PMC - PubMed
    1. Greenberg N, Docherty M, Gnanapragasam S, Wessely S. Managing mental health challenges faced by healthcare workers during Covid-19 pandemic. BMJ 2020;368:m1211. - PubMed
    1. West M, Coia D. UK-wide review of doctors and medical students wellbeing. General Medical Council; 2019. www.gmc-uk.org/about/how-we-work/corporate-strategy-plans-and-impact/sup....
    1. Health Education England NHS staff and learners’ mental wellbeing commission. HEE, 2019. Available from www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/mental-wellbeing-report.