Dr Fortune Mhlanga

Fortune is a Mental Health Nurse, Professional Nurse Advocate, Action Learning Set Facilitator with extensive experience across acute mental health services, leadership, education, and system improvement. Following qualification as a Registered Mental Health Nurse, she completed an MSc in Population Health, a teaching qualification, a Postgraduate Certificate in Health and Social Care Management, and doctoral-level study.

Fortune has worked across a range of mental health settings, including acute inpatient pathways, before moving into senior roles in Higher Education and the NHS. Her previous roles include Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing, teaching on BSc and MSc Nursing programmes, alongside senior leadership positions in Nursing, Quality, and Governance within NHS organisations.

Her professional interests focus on inpatient flow, operational improvement, and quality improvement in acute mental health services. As part of the GIRFT Mental Health Team,  Fortune has led the development of an inpatient system maturity tool designed to support services to improve flow, reduce length of stay, and minimise out‑of‑area placements through a whole‑system, recovery‑focused approach. She is particularly experienced in using action learning to support multidisciplinary teams to address complex operational challenges.

Fortune’s doctoral research explored the implementation of recovery‑oriented practice within mental health services. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Research Fellow at Oxford Brookes University, where she supervises PhD students and collaborates on applied research. She is also Regional Lead for the CNO and CMidO Strategic Advisory Group, promoting equity for Global Majority nurses, midwives, and patients.