On Tuesday 19th November the first ever celebrating nursing retention awards were held in London. Jointly hosted by the Burdett Trust for Nursing and NHS Improvement, this was an opportunity to celebrate and thank those that have been doing brilliant work around staff retention across the country. There were several formal presentations on good practice –showcasing work done by NHS Trusts with support from NHS improvement to improve staff retention. Alongside the formal presentations, there were awards for excellent retention work across several categories. My take home message was definitely “place staff at the centre of your retention work; support and value them and then you will retain them”.
Nominations (and winners) were as follows;
- Best career planning and development offer (Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)
- Best retention offer to support equality, diversity and inclusion (Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust).
- Best Support for those approaching retirement (Mid and South Essex University Hospitals Group)
- Best Flexible working offer to support work-life balance (Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS)
- Best Staff Engagement and Communications offer (Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust)
- Best use of Data to inform Retention Initiatives (Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust)
- Best Health and Wellbeing, Rewards and Benefits offer (Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust)
- Best Support to New Starters and Newly Qualified (The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust)
The final award of the day, the coveted “Retention Team of the Year”; this award went to University Hospitals of Derby and Barton NHS Foundation Trust.
Congratulations to all the award winners, and those who were nominated. The day was rounded off nicely by Professor Mark Radford, Chief Nurse for Health Education England and Deputy Chief Nursing Officer at NHS England and NHS Improvement providing an update on the National Retention Programme (see the website for more details). Retention of the nursing workforce, and other professional groups working in the NHS remains a huge concern amidst reports of workforce deficits and safe staffing issues. From this event it was evident that there are organisations working hard to make a difference not just for NQNs but for all nurses.
The STaR Project 