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Aims: To synthesise evidence regarding organisational practice environment factors affecting healthcare workforce development, recruitment, and retention in the UK. Methods/data sources: A systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and PsycINFO yielded ten relevant studies published between 2018 and 2023 and conducted in the UK (the last search was conducted in March 2023). Adhering to The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, two independent reviewers conducted screening, sifting, and data extraction, applying the quality assessment tool for risk of bias. Results: Results highlight key factors associated with staff intention to leave/turnover/retention: workplace challenges, aggression, moral distress, on-the-job embeddedness, leadership involvement, organisational support, and flexible shift patterns. Notably, aggression from colleagues, including clinical staff but not interdisciplinary personnel, has a more detrimental impact on staff intention to leave than aggression from patients. Conclusion: The complex and context-dependent impacts of these organisational factors on the UK healthcare workforce underscore the need for tailored interventions. The review acknowledges limitations, including bias from excluding qualitative studies, a small pool of included studies, and nurse overrepresentation. Summary statement: What is already known: Securement and retainment issues affect different aspects of health and care services. Moreover, healthcare workforce shortages persist in the UK. What this paper adds: Our findings on the importance of workplace challenges and aggression, moral distress, on-the-job-embeddedness, leadership, flexible shift pattern, and organisational support in staff retention are important to addressing the current UK healthcare workforce crisis. Implications for practice/policy: The findings of this review are important to healthcare commissioners, policymakers, and stakeholders, offering valuable insights for dealing with factors contributing to shortages in the healthcare workforce and enhancing staff satisfaction and retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The nursing shortage represents a persistent and urgent challenge within the healthcare industry. One of the most cost-effective and time-efficient solutions to address this issue is the recruitment of inactive nurses to rejoin the nursing workforce, while simultaneously ensuring the long-term sustainability of their careers following their return to work. The aim of this study is to explore the factors that facilitate the retention of nurses who have returned to work, from their perspective. Methods: To achieve this aim, a qualitative descriptive design was employed. A total of 15 registered nurses who had not practiced nursing for a minimum of three years prior to their return to work, and had been working as nurses for at least three months following their return, were selected from seven healthcare institutions using convenience sampling. Face-to-face or online semi-structured interviews were conducted, and qualitative inductive analysis was employed to analyze the collected data. Results: The analysis revealed five key themes, two of which were related to the enabling factors making it possible for the nurses to continue their work, while the remaining three pertained to the motivating factors driving the pursuit of professional careers. The two themes associated with enabling factors were identified as "Conditions and support that sustain work-life balance" and "A workplace that acknowledges my career, and encourages my growth as an experienced nurse". The three themes related to motivating factors were entitled "Pride in reconnecting with and contributing to society," "Cultivating confidence through incremental professional development and future envisioning," and "Enrichment of my own and my family's life". Conclusions: Returning nurses constitute a valuable asset for healthcare institutions. To effectively retain these nurses, it is crucial to implement multi-dimensional approaches that enable and motivate them to sustain and enrich their professional and personal lives while continuing their work in the nursing field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]