Workforce Crisis: Recruitment, Retention, and Wellbeing of NHS Staff

 

My name is John Walsh. I worked for over twenty years in the NHS for people who are homeless and in the asylum system in Leeds. This work was mainly on the streets with homeless people. 

I presently work in the People Solutions Team ( Organisational Development )Lead at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust. This work involves culture change, leadership and systems work.

I am  the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian for the Trust and also the Leeds GP Confederation.  

I have been given a number of awards which include Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust Clinician of the Year (2013), The Yorkshire and Humberside Leadership Academy Community Leader ( 2013 ), Yorkshire Evening Post Community Health award ( 2015 ), Yorkshire Evening Post Overall Judges Winner award ( 2015) and the AdsthePoet award for Compassion in Health ( 2015).  I also received a special award from practice nurses for supporting the work of Practice Nursing. 

Paula joined the NMC in February 2021 and is Senior Adviser for Advanced Practice leading the NMCs review of advanced practice, as well as leading the prescribing portfolio, supporting all things independent and supplementary prescribing for nurses and midwives.

Paula is a registered general nurse, having trained in Australia and moved to the UK in 1995.

Paula has worked in a variety of roles within secondary care, primary and community services, higher education and transformation, involved in the development of GP Federations and Training Hubs across North London. Paula was involved in setting up volunteer ‘health champions’ in GP practices and developing research practices to improve patient outcomes.

Paula is leading the programme of work to collaboratively develop additional regulation for nurses and midwives working at an advanced level. Paula is an independent prescriber and continues to work clinically as a Consultant Nurse in General Practice.

Paula’s wider interests include population health, supporting equitable access to high quality services, as well as supporting high quality learning opportunities and future workforce development across health and social care.

"Amerjit Chohan is Chief Executive of Helpforce, the UK’s only charity dedicated solely to advancing healthcare volunteering. He joined Helpforce in early 2025, bringing more than 30 years’ experience in healthcare, fundraising, strategy and organisational growth.

Before joining Helpforce, Amerjit was a Partner at More Partnership, where he led strategy work with NHS Charity clients. Prior to that, he spent five years as Chief Executive of St George’s Hospital Charity, helping to grow its profile, impact and fundraising reach.

Amerjit has a long-standing commitment to the NHS and the role of communities in improving health and care. To mark the NHS’s 70th anniversary, he led a consortium of NHS organisations to deliver the successful Big 7Tea campaign, bringing people together across the country to celebrate and support the NHS. He later became one of the founding members of what is now NHS Charities Together, serving on its Board from its inception through to 2024.

As Chief Executive of Helpforce, Amerjit is leading the organisation through its next stage of growth, with a clear focus on increasing the role, reach and impact of volunteering across health and care. His ambition is to ensure volunteering is no longer seen as a “nice to have”, but as a vital part of how the NHS and wider health system improves patient experience, supports staff, strengthens communities and helps people receive care closer to home."

Felipe Castro Cardona RM FRCM is an Independent Senior Healthcare Adviser and founder of Castro Healthcare Consulting, working with healthcare, life sciences and health technology organisations to make innovation clinically credible, system-ready and safe to implement.

His own career models the reimagined NHS pathway this panel explores. Trained as a nurse in Seville, he was internationally recruited into the NHS in 2003, began in critical care, retrained as a midwife, and rose through Barts Health NHS Trust to Consultant Midwife for Public Health, serving one of the most diverse populations in the country. He then served in NHS England's national team from 2021, first as National Adviser for Midwifery International Recruitment and ultimately as National Head of Midwifery Clinical Workforce, shaping national workforce policy, immunisation campaigns and digital transformation alongside government, regulators and the Royal Colleges.

A longstanding educator, he guest lectured on midwifery programmes at City University London and London South Bank University for nearly a decade and co-founded the Midwifery Unit Network. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Midwives, a Florence Nightingale Foundation Scholar and a Windsor Leadership Fellow at St George's House, and holds an MSc in Public Health and Health Economics. His current work focuses on Life Sciences advisory on Immunisation, workforce transformation and the safe adoption of AI in health and care.

Samir is a public sector recruitment, workforce and DE&I expert and has worked in SaaS and HCM for over 20 years. He is passionate about innovating and pushing more of the diversity agenda into everyday recruitment using more big data and automation.

In recent years, Samir’s focus has been on the NHS, supporting Trusts to shape and get the absolute best out of their recruitment strategies and meet their recruitment and workforce goals. He understands the challenges NHS Trusts and organisations are facing when it comes to areas such as DE&I, talent shortages and the rate at which roles need to be filled, to name but a few.

As well as being a keen freerunner, Samir has an interest in psychology, looking at why people do what they do and how they make decisions. He has taken this passion and helped evolve Oleeo’s recruitment technology offering.

Currently Head of Staff Experience and Engagement at University College London Hospitals (UCLH), Jane Keep is an experienced Organisational Development Professional specialising in Executive and Board Development, Leadership Development, Team and Individual Coaching, Staff Engagement, and Health, Wellbeing and Resilience for Leaders and Staff, and Organisational Change.

Jane has worked with the NHS for 46 years including as Head of Organisational Development in two large acute NHS Foundation Trusts, working to board level, in addition to undertaking 26 years of freelance projects/short term/interim contracts in the NHS. She has worked extensively with boards, Non-Executive and Executive Development. Jane has worked in all NHS settings, acute, primary care, specialist hospitals, at strategic and at a national Level where she was a national advisor (sub-contractor) in the Department of Health, a researcher for the Kings Fund, and policy lead for the NHS Confederation. Jane has also worked with parliamentary select committees, as well as working with healthcare professionals in Hong Kong, Kenya and Europe.  Jane has an MSC in Organisational Development, a Diploma in coaching, and a PhD in Health and wellbeing at work.

Jane has for the last 7 years worked as a visiting Associate Professor at London South Bank University in the health systems innovation lab within the school of health and social care and previously worked as a fellow and senior fellow at Birmingham University and worked on delivering leadership and organisational development programmes at Leeds University.

Elaine Pope is Associate Director of Organisational Development at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, where she leads work to strengthen culture, leadership and staff experience. With a career spanning the NHS, local government and the voluntary sector, Elaine brings a wealth of experience in driving collaborative change and developing people and organisations to deliver meaningful impact for communities.

She is passionate about the role of health and care organisations as anchor institutions, shaping opportunities that extend beyond healthcare to improve the wider social and economic wellbeing of local populations. Alongside her Trust role, Elaine chairs the Buckinghamshire Cornerstone Employer group, championing employer engagement with schools and colleges to raise aspirations and widen access to careers. She is also Faculty Lead (Faculty of Organisational Development and Leadership) for the Buckinghamshire Health and Social Care Academy, supporting system-wide development of future leaders.

The work of her team has also been recognised nationally, with the BrigHT Futures programme at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust selected as a Regional Champion in the Valuing Our People category at the inaugural NHS Excellence Awards, reflecting its impact in connecting workforce development with community engagement and future talent pipelines.

Elaine’s work is driven by her belief that inclusive leadership, collaboration and community partnerships are essential to creating healthier places and stronger futures.

 

Dr Andrew Weyman , Reader, Department of Psychology, University of Bath.- Specialism human factors and the psychology of risk in work organisations. 40years experience in systems approaches to workplace health, safety and well-being. He led ESRC/NHS England funded research: ‘Should I stay or should I go? NHS staff retention in the post COVID-19 world (2020-24). Other NHS specific activity includes implications of the rise in pension age for staff health well-being and retention (MRC and NHS Working Longer Evidence Review). As a Principal Scientist at the Health and Safety Executive (1992-2006) he was an advisor to the HSE’s Health Sector Programme.  He was also member of advisory committee for the NICE guidance Workplace health: management practices (2015).

Kate has over 30 years of professional experience working across public and private sectors in a range of strategic OD, HR, change and consultancy roles.

Kate holds an MSc in Occupational Psychology, a Post-Graduate Certificate in Neurodiversity Coaching, is a Chartered Member of CIPD, has an ILM7 Certificate in Coaching & Mentoring, and a BSc Hons in Mathematics & Psychology.

Her diverse career includes six years in international management consultancy, working with BT on global reward and performance strategic change programmes, leading learning and development and assessment work at Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue, working in strategic HR business partnering in higher education, running a consultancy business, including supporting women in leadership, and working in a fast-growing and changing EdTec startup.

Since 2021 Kate has been working in NHS England, leading programmes of work in the NHS to improve Staff Experience and Retention across the SW region. Her work has included leading the roll-out of the People Promise Exemplar programme across 17 NHS organisations, working to increase the numbers of people that feel compassionately led and included, safe and healthy, recognised and rewarded and have a voice that counts. She also led the delivery of the SW work to reduce nursing attrition as part of the 50,000 additional nurses programme, partnering with clinical colleagues and teams across the region.

She is also passionate about supporting neurodivergent colleagues to thrive in the workplace and loves coaching colleagues from all backgrounds and all levels to help them meet personal and professional goals and extend their impact.

Kate lives in East Devon with her family and loves nothing more reading a good book or a long hike out around the coast or on the moors with her fox red labrador, Lyra.

 

Jeanette Williams FCIPD is the Regional Head of Staff Experience, Engagement and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) within the Workforce Training and Education Directorate at NHS England South East. She leads a team of subject matter experts and is a strategic workforce leader with more than 25 years' experience spanning nursing, leadership, workforce development, organisational development, staff wellbeing, quality improvement, coaching and mentoring.

Jeanette’s work focuses on improving access, quality and productivity across health systems to enhance workforce and patient outcomes. She has extensive experience leading complex transformation and improvement programmes, bringing together partners across organisations to drive sustainable, people-centred change. Her areas of expertise include staff experience and engagement, wellbeing, leadership development, equality, diversity and inclusion, organisational culture, quality management and the development of improvement capabilities.

Beginning her career in nursing, Jeanette has built a strong track record of supporting leaders, teams and organisations to create compassionate, inclusive and high-performing cultures where people can flourish. She is passionate about developing leadership capability, promoting wellbeing and embedding evidence-based approaches that improve both staff experience and the quality of care delivered to patients.

Jeanette holds a master’s degree in Senior Leadership from Henley Business School, is a CIPD Chartered Fellow (FCIPD), EMCC Coach Practitioner, accredited Civil, Commercial and Workplace Mediator, and a recognised Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) expert. In addition to her NHS leadership role, she serves as a Trustee and Chair of several Christian charities, reflecting her commitment to service, governance and community development.

She is driven by the belief that investing in people, fostering belonging and creating psychologically safe environments are fundamental to building compassionate cultures and achieving excellent outcomes for patients, staff and communities.

Jen Newell is a writer, systems analyst, and NHS professional specialising in institutional behaviour, governance failure, and organisational harm. Currently working for NHS Surrey and Sussex ICB but about to be made redundant in the final round of redundancies. Her work focuses on how complex systems break down, why staff experience moral injury and burnout, and how institutional structures can turn against their own people.

Jen’s recent analytical series explores the NHS through the lens of autoimmune disease - identifying the systemic conditions that cause self-attack, whistleblower retaliation, and escalating harm. She writes extensively on meaning integrity, organisational culture, and structural reform, and is currently collaborating with academics and engineers on new models for institutional repair and tolerance restoration

I have been a Unite officer for 12 years and currently have responsibility for Unite health sector members across the Uk & Ireland, alongside my colleague Richard Munn (National Officer for Health). 

My responsibilities include;

• Collective bargaining and consultation for our members in both NHS and arms-length providers
• Developing the union’s strategy on how we can best support our reps and members working in the health service 
• Coordinating campaigns such as Unite’s campaign against workforce cuts across the NHS

Unite have over 100,000 members within the health service (health visitors, ambulance, biomedical scientists, administrators, porters, therapists, support workers and many more) working in both NHS and private providers, so we are well placed to understand and address the challenges faced across the whole health sector.

Recruitment, Retention & Wellbeing of staff is a key issue that is fundamental to ensuring safe delivery of healthcare services the public expect, so we welcome the opportunity to participate in this important conference.

Helen Winter is a Medical Oncologist, SWAG Cancer Alliance Clinical Director and Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Bristol. A recipient of a National Clinical Impact Award, her work spans clinical leadership, translational research and the implementation of innovation in cancer care, with a particular focus on improving equity of access and delivering care closer to home.

She co-chairs the National Immunotherapy Education Forum, supporting multi-professional upskilling and the safer delivery of immunotherapy across the UK and beyond. She recently visited Japan and presented on Compassionate Leadership.

Vanessa Coelho is a senior nursing leader and leadership development specialist with a passion for advancing nursing leadership through an intersectional and organisational lens. She is Head of Nursing Leadership at the Royal College of Nursing, where she leads national programmes to strengthen leadership capability and influence across the profession. Her background spans acute and integrated care, higher education and workforce development, bringing together clinical, academic and strategic expertise. Vanessa holds an Executive MBA and MSc in Healthcare Management and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She is passionate about compassionate, inclusive leadership and creating environments where nurses can thrive, lead with confidence and drive meaningful, system-wide change.

 

Tina is the Allied Health Professionals Faculty Lead for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and a healthcare leader dedicated to advancing workforce development, training, and education for AHPs across the healthcare system. 

A Physiotherapist by profession, Tina’s career spans advanced clinical practice, leadership development, transformation, and the operational delivery of services. She holds an MSc in Trauma and Orthopaedics and achieved Foundation Chartered Manager status through the NHS Leadership Academy’s Rosalind Franklin Programme. She currently serves as the system lead for delivering the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Community MSK Programme for Central East ICB. 

Tina is passionate about bringing people together, strengthening collaboration across systems, and sharing best practice to transform services. Her work focuses on enhancing patient experience and developing the workforce capabilities needed to ensure the NHS is fit for the future. 

 

I am the Safer Staffing and Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework Transformational Lead with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust in the United Kingdom. My work involves implementing safer staffing methodology within the nursing workforce and supporting implementation of the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework to advance equity in mental health care.

In 1997 Angus was elected Vice-President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) and in 1998 he encouraged the RCSEd to set up the Faculty of Health Informatics (FHI). He had already self-taught himself Fortran IV programming (on a Digital PDP-11 computer), Basic on an Apple computer and Machine Code on a Sinclair ZX Spectrum.

He was appointed Dean of the FHI from 2000 to 2005 and established one of the first Master’s Degree Programmes in Health Informatics in the UK with Bath University (and later Edinburgh University). The purpose was to help improve NHS staff (nurses, doctors, physios and others) in their informatics skills to provide a smarter and more efficient delivery of service to their patients.

When Dr John Williams, from the Royal College of General Practitioners and colleagues set up the UK wide Faculty of Clinical Informatics (FCI) Angus supported them as a Founding Fellow in 2017. Regrettably, in early 2024 the FCI closed because of financial problems and Angus with some of his colleagues set up UK Digital Health and Care CIC (a Community Interest Company) as a non-profit organisation. The UKDHC now has nearly 800 members and is focussed on supporting all professionals in Health and Social Care to improve their digital skills so that we can all develop smarter and better care for our patients, the elderly and dependents. UKDHC is supporting NHSE with the NHS App and improving the quality of health and social care information on social media.

Bertha Bernasko Asante is a Clinical Practice Nurse Educator, author, and healthcare quality improvement leader with over 30 years of nursing experience across Ghana and the UK, including 23 years in the NHS. She holds an MSc in Healthcare Leadership, earning an excellent write-up in Emotional Intelligence, an Advanced Diploma in Perioperative Nursing, and a PGCE in Professional Academic Practice, gaining Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

A trusted Professional Nurse Advocate, Bertha provides restorative clinical supervision and champions staff wellbeing and pastoral support, particularly for the international workforce. She also serves in the Christian Healthcare Professionals Network (CHPNet), connecting, mentoring, and supporting staff through education and community engagement.

Bertha is the author of The Professional Progression Pathway (PPP) and founder of initiatives supporting professional integration, cultural adaptation, OSCE readiness, and leadership development. She also created the Quality Care Compass Framework to guide organisations in CQC preparation.

She is passionate about building a resilient, skilled, and future-ready NHS workforce through education, leadership, emotional intelligence, and change management.