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Disability equality within healthcare: The role of healthcare professionals

June 2007
It is estimated that around 11 million adults in the UK are disabled. There is evidence that inequalities in health outcomes and access to healthcare among disabled people continue to exist. Doctors recognise that they have an important role to play in addressing disability equality. Section one introduces the social model of disability which highlights that it is barriers within society which ‘dis-able’ people with impairments and not the impairments themselves. Applying this model to healthcare means that adopting a more holistic approach to disability which looks beyond standards and targets, and works in partnership with disabled people, is likely to be more effective in addressing health inequalities experienced by disabled people.

Section two highlights the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and 2005 which make it illegal to discriminate against disabled people in the provision of healthcare. All service providers, including those in general practice, have a duty to promote disability equality and are required make reasonable adjustments to the way they deliver healthcare and to the physical features of their premises to meet the needs of disabled people. NHS organisations, excluding GP practices, also have a duty to produce a disability equality scheme to demonstrate and report on how they will tackle disability equality and how they will consult with disabled people within service design.

Some of the health inequalities experienced by disabled people are discussed in section three. While more comprehensive and robust data are needed on health inequalities, there is evidence that disabled people experience various inequalities in health outcome when compared to non-disabled people and that access to healthcare services is often inequitable. The results of a formal investigation by the Disability Rights Commission show, for example, that people with mental health problems and/or learning difficulties are more likely than other citizens to ‘experience major illnesses, to develop them younger and die from them sooner’. Access barriers can also be significant and include inappropriate communication and information systems which can prevent disabled people from knowing what services are available, how to access them or how to use them effectively. Poor physical access or poorly designed buildings and facilities can also create significant barriers for people who have mobility impairments, for example.

Ways in which disabling barriers in healthcare can be broken down are identified in section four. The importance of leadership and commitment from UK health departments, all NHS organisations and the medical profession is highlighted, as is the critical role that commissioning can have in creating responsive services that meet the needs of disabled people. Improving the communication skills and attitudes of healthcare staff towards disabled people is one of the most important disabling barriers that must be broken down. Increased provision of disability equality and etiquette training should be supported by all NHS organisations and within undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. All policies aimed at breaking down disabling barriers, including implementing disability equality training, will be most effective if disabled patients and service users are consulted and involved at every opportunity.

The report concludes with a list of recommendations which highlight some of the key measures needed to address inequalities in access to healthcare and health outcomes experienced by disabled people.

Download the reprt in PDF format (606K)