For early and mid-career mental health nurses to stay in the profession they need to know they are valued and have CPD opportunities and flexible career options

A healthy and valued workforce is vital for safe and compassionate mental healthcare. That was my take-home from the recent senior leadership symposium on advancing and sustaining the mental health nursing workforce.

The inaugural event, hosted by NHS England, was billed as an opportunity to share and celebrate best practice, but it did not shy away from the realities facing the profession. Students were a visible and vocal presence, capturing the debate on Twitter at #MHNworkforceMatters.

Nurses must be supported to stay in mental healthcare

A core theme of the day was the value placed on early and mid-career mental health nurses. While students are completing their degrees and entering the profession, they are not staying.

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Pay makes the headlines, but it is not the sole reason for retention problems. This group needs to be valued and retained through, for example, tailored – not solely mandatory – CPD opportunities and flexible career options. A consultation on mental health nursing career pathways is shortly to be published with the aim of improving retention.

The value placed on staff is writ large in the support provided to them after a colleague dies by suicide. Tragically, the event heard that nurses are at a higher risk of dying by suicide than the general population.

They are a workforce experiencing significant stress and distress, not least because of the lasting professional and personal effects of COVID-19 and more recently the cost of living crisis.

‘Postvention’ toolkit co-developed with healthcare staff who have been affected by death by suicide

An NHS employee suicide ‘postvention’ toolkit is available. Postvention refers to support after suicide.

The resource aims to support healthcare leaders in managing the effect of an employee suicide on colleagues, including students on placement.

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Crucially, it was co-developed with healthcare staff who had experienced the death of a colleague by suicide. It recognises the need to respond to different help-seeking behaviours, for example, nurses prefer informal feedback and advice, and acknowledges the importance of restorative clinical supervision delivered by professional nurse advocates.

Lisa Berry is co-editor of Mental Health Practice