Professional work in austere healthcare in the UK.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Professional work in austere healthcare in the UK- the case of physiotherapy.
IRAS ID
272374
Contact name
Stephen Timmons
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
This study aims to investigate how a healthcare profession is able to react to and deal with austerity measures and financial pressures and how this affects their work. There has been some exploration into how medicine and nursing adapt to these challenges, but very little outside of these professions. Therefore, the physiotherapy profession will be examined in this study. This is important because different professions may have different resources, skills and abilities to accommodate the challenges which austerity measures can provide. Physiotherapists who currently work in the National Health Service (NHS), and are able to consent to take part, will be eligible to participate in the study. The study will take place in an NHS organisation in England. In order to collect data, the researcher will situate themselves within this organisation and observe practice over the course of approximately 4-6 months. Physiotherapists will be observed in their normal working day and they may also discuss their working life with the researcher. Direct contact
with patients/service users/relatives will not be observed. Participants may also be invited to take part in an interview with the researcher, where they will ask questions about their experiences of working in the NHS during financial pressures. Documents which may help to understand the impact of austerity in the workplace, such as policies, posters and administration may also be collected where appropriate. The researcher will use this information to gain an understanding of how physiotherapists adapt to austerity measures and financial pressures, how this affects the nature of their work and any strategies they use to do so.REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/EM/0321
Date of REC Opinion
14 Jan 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion