2021 to 2022: University of York – Dr Helen Anderson

At the beginning of the pandemic, General practice was required, at pace, to rethink how care would be delivered. This was generally led by GP partners and practice managers, although some nurses in the study had involvement in this, ranging from nominal to significant. In the experience of many participants, nursing was considered to be somewhat of an afterthought, both strategically and practically, during the pandemic. Nurses made a major contribution to setting up covid vaccination centres and delivering the bulk of vaccinations, although this, and the wider work of nurses in general practice, was often not recognised by colleagues or the public more broadly.

Nurses in this study experienced significant challenges to their working life, their nursing practice and their personal and professional wellbeing. While some nurses thrived on the opportunities that workplace changes associated with the pandemic offered, the majority experienced challenges and some participants displayed symptoms of burnout and stress. Many of the experiences nurses talked about in the study pre-dated the pandemic, sometimes by years and decades, but these issues had been exacerbated and laid bare by the pandemic. Consequently, this had implications for retention of both newly qualified and experienced nurses with several revaluating whether they wanted to continue working in general practice and in what capacity, while some had already left general practice, taken early retirement or had reduced their working hours. This has implications for the future of nursing in general practice.

Anderson, H., Scantlebury, A., Galdas, P., & Adamson, J. (2022). General Practice Nurses’ experiences of changing care delivery during COVID-19. Implications for future practice: Qualitative study protocol. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 78, 3061–3068.