Case Study: Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust improves nurse retention with NHS Employers

Using Data To Improve Nurse Turnover

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust worked with NHS Employers to tackle high nurse vacancies and rising turnover after 308 nurses left in 2016. To understand why nurses were leaving and how to improve retention, the trust gathered local intelligence from exit interviews, the NHS Staff Survey, Friends and Family Test results, patient surveys, and focus groups with existing nurses.

NHS Employers supported a data-led retention approach that led to a 25-point action plan covering flexible retirement, stronger preceptorship, internal career mobility, recognition, and better manager support. As a result, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust improved nurse retention by 2% between January and December 2016 and also reduced reliance on recruiting and funding temporary and agency staff.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust