RCPsych launches its first Retention Charter
We are pleased to announce that RCPsych has published its first Retention Charter, led by Dr Ananta Dave (Presidential Lead for Retention and Wellbeing) and our Presidential Scholar, Dr Tom Hewson.
The charter was launched at the RCPsych English Medical Directors’ event on 11 July 2025.
It helps to address one of the College’s core priorities of supporting and nurturing psychiatrists and supports healthcare organisations to address one of the most crucial issues facing mental health services.
It provides a structured framework for healthcare organisations to adopt by providing a step wise and systemic approach to the retention of psychiatrists.
The charter consists of four domains:
- Creating a culture of belonging
- Supporting psychiatrists mental and physical health
- Supporting psychiatrists’ career planning including considering those leaving
- Developing medical leadership
Over the past year, the charter has been formulated by the collated views and experiences of psychiatrists working across multiple career stages, the devolved nations, and various mental health settings. It was also informed by patient and carer group feedback, policy documents, research, and good practice examples to develop a structured approach towards retention practices.
The next steps for the charter will include working with stakeholders to develop evaluation tools and dashboards that will help us to understand the impact of this work and build an evidence base around retention practices in psychiatry.