Targeted Retention
We help Mental Health NHS Trusts and organisations retain their experienced and valued staff by helping them diagnose the individual factors affecting retention within their organisations and by providing actionable insights and recommendations for change.
About Targeted Retention
Poor retention of mental health staff has a devastating impact on the care and treatment of people using mental health services. Our aim is to find solutions to help create targeted retention strategies taking into account the nuances of each professional working group within mental health systems. We are starting with a focus on mental health nurses as they are the largest professional group working within mental health systems around the globe and account for some of the most critical shortages.
According to NHS Shared Business Service it can cost anything up to £12,000 to replace an experienced nurse. According to NHS digital 7149 mental health nurses left their NHS mental health Trusts between March 2023 and 2024. This means that the inability to retain experienced mental health nurses alone cost the NHS approximately £86 million last year.
We have done the research and our findings have uncovered the process mental health nurses go through before intending on leaving their jobs. Our findings also demonstrate a range of factors and experiences that influence this process and suggest that organisations now need to diagnose the issues affecting retention within their own organisation and develop a strategy to address them quickly.
We are currently developing a data-driven analytical retention tool grounded in research that will help organisations diagnose their individual factors affecting retention and provide actionable insights and tangible recommendations for change. This tool will make addressing the most significant challenge affecting the nursing workforce for leaders and managers on all levels simple and effective.
Our research
The Retention of Mental Health Staff (RoMHS) project investigated the determinants of mental health care staff retention. With the aim of better understanding how organisational contexts and the experiences of health care staff in the workplace influence staff retention and patient outcomes. This project was funded by the Health Foundation https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/romhs/home.
The trailer below designed by the Nifty Fox Creative summarises the particular project focused on the retention of mental health nurses.
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Dr Rosie Wilson-Adams
FOUNDER
I am an experienced mental health nurse currently working clinically. I am passionate about improving retention within the mental health nursing workforce by improving job satisfaction to produce safer and effective mental health care. My PhD focused on understanding the factors affecting retention of mental health nurses paying attention to the differences across types of clinical settings. From this research I developed a novel theoretical model of intention to leave for mental health nurses and tangible recommendations for change.
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Dr Emily Wood
CO-FOUNDER
I am a senior researcher at the University of Sheffield, specialising in the mental health workforce. I undertook my PhD in Health Services Research after a clinical career as a mental health nurse.
Research projects have included retention of healthcare staff in mental health services and how new roles are implemented. I have received grants from the NIHR and The Health Foundation. -
Professor Tony Ryan
CO-FOUNDER
I am Professor Emeritus at the University of Sheffield, having worked within research and practice development in the field of health and social care for over 30 years. I have led large scale programmes of research and impact and published within the health workforce retention space. I regard retention as the most important challenge facing our healthcare delivery. Throughout my career I have worked closely with NHS partners to promote innovation and change.
What people are saying
CEO - NHS Mental Health Trust
“This confirms what I believe to be the approach we need to take Nationally..”
Director of people - NHS Mental Health Trust
“Retention of our staff continues to be important for our Trust and is a key part of our people strategy and plan.”
Contact Us
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