Disabled Doctors And Medical Students Let Down, Says BMA, UK

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 25 Jul 2007 - 1:00 PST

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In a report out yesterday Tuesday, 24 July 2007 the BMA called on the General Medical Council [GMC] to lead the way in promoting disability equality in the medical profession by working with other regulatory bodies, medical schools and employers.

A key part of this is championing access to medicine for disabled1 people and advocating improved organisational practices and policies including comprehensive monitoring and support for disabled doctors.

All medical schools and employers have a statutory obligation to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people. The BMA report, 'Disability equality in the medical profession'2, also highlights the need to ensure that disabled doctors, disabled medical students and those who acquire an impairment while studying or practising medicine have effective support to enable them to do their job and care for their patients.

The BMA's Head of Science and Ethics, Dr Vivienne Nathanson, said:

"In the UK, around 11 million adults are covered by the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act [DDA], that's about one in five of the total adult population. There are no accurate data on the number of disabled doctors but there clearly are barriers to careers in medicine for disabled people. The GMC has started to address some of these issues but there is still a lot more to do."

She added:

"In the medical profession, people with a wide range of impairments and long-term health conditions face many hurdles including inflexible working patterns. There needs to be a cultural shift toward an inclusive environment that fosters diversity. The 'one size fits all' approach does not reflect people's lives and should not reflect medicine."

Recommendations in the report include:

-- The General Medical Council [GMC] and Medical Schools Council [MSC] must work with medical schools to ensure that any assessment of the suitability of a disabled applicant to enter medical school is based solely on academic performance and personal qualities, and be independent of any health assessment.

-- Any decision to decline an applicant a place in medical school on the basis of impairment should be based on expert advice on what effect an applicant's impairment might have on their ability to study and practise medicine. Where this isn't available, the GMC and the MSC must ensure that those making the decision are appropriately trained in making such decisions.

-- Organisations with strategic and operational responsibility for doctors and medical students should ensure that all reasonable adjustments are made in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act [DDA] 1995 [as amended] to ensure that they are not put at a substantial disadvantage when studying, training or practising medicine.

--The GMC should take a lead role in promoting disability equality within the medical profession by working in partnership with the UK Health Departments and relevant stakeholder organisations.

-- Further research is required into the extent to which impairments are under-reported, the types of impairment that are most likely and least likely to be declared, and the barriers to declaration in the medical profession.

-- The GMC and the MSC should work in partnership with the BMA and the UK Health Departments to promote medicine as a potential career for disabled people

-- All medical schools should be aware of their responsibilities under the DDA 2005 to promote disability equality. Consideration should be given to providing disabled applicants with taster placements in medicine, in order to attract more disabled people to medicine and allow applicants to decide whether it is a suitable career choice for them.

-- The GMC should work with the MSC to ensure that there are consistent admissions procedures in UK medical schools, and that there is a system by which information on assessment and selection decision can be recorded and shared within and between institutions.

-- Organisations with strategic and operational responsibility for doctors should ensure that any newly impaired doctor is offered appropriate support and access to occupational health services and that their organisational policies on retaining doctors are communicated to all doctors to encourage impaired doctors to notify their employer.

1 According to the DDA [as amended] 'a person has a disability if he or she has a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'. While there is no comprehensive list of impairments which constitute a person being disabled, examples of the types of impairment include sensory impairments; mobility difficulties and other physical impairments; learning difficulties and people who have a condition within the autistic spectrum; mental health problems; speech impairments; cognitive memory problems, such as dementia; and long-term conditions, such as epilepsy and dyslexia. It is important to note that the definition also covers illnesses and conditions which some people may not associate with disability, such as asthma, depression, heart disease or diabetes. People affected by these types of conditions may consider themselves to have an impairment or chronic illness, but not as disabled. Following the introduction of the DDA 2005, the definition of disability has been widened to include individuals, such as those with cancer, HIV infection and multiple sclerosis, who are now covered from the point of diagnosis.

2 The full report can be accessed on the BMA website here

http://www.bma.org.uk

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