Research group

Health Workforce and Systems

Image of two surgeons performing surgery.

We research how healthcare is organised and delivered in a range of contexts, with the aim of achieving better outcomes for patients.

Part of Health science

About

At the core of effective healthcare delivery and optimal patient care lies a well organised and healthy workforce. 

We investigate how healthcare teams can be structured and supported to deliver better outcomes for both patients and staff—particularly crucial in today's global healthcare worker shortage. 

Research areas

We explore three interconnected areas:

  • Workforce Planning and Deployment 

We develop models and tools to predict how many nurses are needed at the unit and service level, helping healthcare organisations using their valuable human resources more efficiently. These models are informed by our groundbreaking research on safe staffing, with a collection of studies exploring associations between staffing configurations (size, skill mix, shift patterns) and outcomes for patients, staff and the organisation.

  • Staff Wellbeing and Retention 

Acknowledging that there is no patient safety without staff wellbeing, we look at ways to create health systems that prioritise their staff wellbeing, creating work environments where people want to join and stay.

  • Cultural and Values-Based Workforce Configuration 

We consider how professional values and workplace culture influence how teams work best together.

Our Approach

Our interdisciplinary team brings together expertise from nursing, midwifery, health services research, computer sciences, sociology, economics, psychology, mathematics, and operational research. 

This diversity allows us to apply both quantitative and qualitative methods, including:

  • analysis of large healthcare datasets
  • national surveys, focus groups, in-depth interviews, and observing how healthcare teams function
  • data science techniques, operational research and mathematical modelling
  • evidence synthesis and implementation science

Our Impact

Our findings directly inform healthcare practice across various settings, including:

  • acute care hospitals
  • mental health services
  • maternity care and community hospitals

Our work has shaped the NHS Long Term Workforce plan, and our findings motivated change by providing core evidence for: 

  • global policy (World Health Organisation, International Council of Nursing)
  • legislation (Wales, Scotland)
  • development of safe-staffing guidelines in the UK (NHS England, and National Institute for Heath and Care Excellence – NICE)

 

Research highlights

People, projects and publications

People

Professor Bronagh Walsh

Professor

Research interests

  • Patterns of health service use in older people
  • Avoidable admissions in older people
  • Influence of frailty on health service use
Connect with Bronagh

Dr Carole Fogg

Senior Research Fellow

Research interests

  • Use of health and social care ‘big data’ to characterise older people’s service use and outcomes, especially for people living with frailty or dementia.
  • Development and assessment of interventions to improve care and quality of life for older adults.
  • Methodological expertise: epidemiology, clinical trials of medicines and devices, feasibility studies, patient and public involvement and engagement with health services research.

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Carole

Dr Chiara Dall'ora

Associate Professor in Health Workforce

Research interests

  • Health workforce organisation
  • Shift work
  • Occupational health - burnout

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Chiara

Dr Christina Saville MSc, PhD, AFORS

Lecturer in Healthcare Management

Research interests

  • Safe staffing
  • Operational research techniques applied to healthcare
  • Health workforce
Connect with Christina

Ms Francesca Lambert

Research Project Co-ordinator
Connect with Francesca

Dr Hannah Barker

Research Fellow

Research interests

  • Health Workforce and Systems
  • Developing and Implementing Complex Interventions
  • Living Well with Long Term Conditions
Connect with Hannah

Dr Ivaylo Vassilev

Associate Professor

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Ivaylo

Miss Jasmine Snowden

Senior Teaching Fellow in MHN

Research interests

  • Reducing restrictive practices in CAMHS services. 
  • The use of simualtion in student nurses learning experience.
  • Improving outcomes for autistic people. 
Connect with Jasmine

Dr Joanne Turnbull PhD

Associate Professor

Research interests

  • Ethnography, mixed methods and qualitative methods

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Joanne

Dr Lesley Turner

Lecturer

Research interests

  • The relationship between midwifery staffing and the quality of care.
  • Developing quality indicators for maternity services to improve monitoring and decision making
  • Workforce sustainability and wellbeing

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Lesley