Mental health staff turnover and complaints ‘could be linked to higher suicide rates’

Mental health trusts with high staff turnover rates and a greater number of patient complaints could be more likely to experience patient suicides, according to a report.

The findings from the University of Manchester's National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness analysed 13,960 patient suicides from 2004 to 2012 to determine whether these incidents were related to the way services were organised.

They found that mental health services with higher levels of non-medical staff turnover – that is to say, nursing staff – and more complaints by patients were also more likely to have higher patient suicide rates.

Although the report noted that this relationship may not be causal effect – as staff turnover could be a marker for something else affecting safety, such as poor leadership – it remains a trend worth monitoring in future.

Professor Louis Appleby, director of the inquiry and leader of the national suicide prevention strategy for England, said: "What the data show is that high staff turnover may be a warning sign for patient safety and services should monitor it closely."

Earlier this month, the government urged NHS trusts to commit to a new ambition for zero suicides across the health service.