Evidence-based approaches to recruitment and retention

Evidence-based approaches to recruitment and retention

Attracting and retaining health and care practitioners with the right skills and qualifications can be challenging in remote, rural and island communities. The sustainability, capacity, and capability of this workforce is crucial to the delivery of primary healthcare and community services.

There are many factors that can influence living and working in remote, rural and island locations. Communities, transport links, the cost of living as well as job opportunities for family members and housing are some to consider.

In 2021, 12% of the Scottish population was estimated to live in accessible rural areas and 5% in remote rural areas. A further 9% were estimated to live in accessible small towns and 3% in remote small towns (Scottish Government ‘Rural Scotland Data Dashboard’, 2023).

In its recruitment and retention activity, the National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care is applying new evidence-based approaches to support and improve the attraction and retention of healthcare staff. There are currently five programmes underway that involve a range of collaboration and co-production, including:

• a pilot group implementation of the ‘Making it Work: Framework for Rural Remote Stability’ – which encompasses nine strategic elements
• Living Library – a portfolio of initiatives, housed in an online library, that reflect the experiences of people and communities who have been involved in recruitment and retention in their local areas
• A Highland community project - supporting the implementation and evaluating the impact of a Community Induction Officer role and its objectives within the multi-agency community-led “Work on Skye” recruitment and retention project.

The combined outputs from these and other projects will offer a valuable knowledge base of resources and tools to assist remote and rural communities.

For more information visit:

Recruitment and Retention | Turas | Learn (nhs.scot)

National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care: Information Hub | Turas | Learn (nhs.scot)

Or contact nes.ruralteam@nhs.scot

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