Disability History Month 2024

Disability History Month provides a platform to run local awareness campaigns and an opportunity to: 

• celebrate the achievements of staff with disabilities
• share resources to support disabled staff
• raise awareness of what a disability is; not all disabilities are visible or immediately apparent. 
• encourage leaders and managers to support staff through compassion and inclusivity
• encourage staff to record their disability on the NHS Electronic Staff Record and have open conversations with their managers
• check-in with staff that sufficient adjustments have been made to support those with disabilities to carry out their roles - whether that’s onsite or from home
• review recruitment practices to ensure they are inclusive. 

Social media

Follow us on X @NHSE_Diversity using hashtags #DisabilityHistoryMonth and#UKDHM 

Email

Let us know how you are supporting Disability History Month at diversityandinclusion@nhsemployers.org 

In the NHS Staff Survey, nearly 1 in 4 of our workforce indicated that they have an illness or long-term condition lasting 12 months or more. The following figures taken from the Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) 2023, show the work still needed to be done to make the NHS disability inclusive:

• The percentage of disabled staff in senior positions (band 8c and above, including medical consultants and board members) has increased from 1.8 per cent in 2022 to 2.2 per cent in 2023. This is still significantly behind the 4.9 per cent of the total workforce declaring a disability, indicating there is work to be done in supporting disabled staff to progress.
• Disabled staff are twice as likely to enter the formal capability process as their non-disabled colleagues. This metric has slightly increased in the last year, from 2.01 per cent in 2022 to 2.17 per cent in 2023. 
• The number of disabled staff reporting that they received workplace adjustments to perform their duties has increased slightly from 72.2 per cent in 2022 to 73.4 per cent in 2023. However, this means that over a quarter of disabled staff still do not have the adjustments they need to perform their role.
• One third of disabled staff reported having experienced bullying, harassment or abuse from patients or the public. Around a sixth stated experiencing this from managers and one quarter from colleagues. This is notably higher than that experienced by non-disabled staff. 

NHS Employers and the NHS Confederation have developed a range of resources including blogs, case studies, videos and guidance to help support disability in the workplace. 

Webpages 

• Building disability inclusive workplaces
• Workforce Disability Equality Standard 2023 report findings
• A guide to improving staff disability data
• Making effective workplace adjustments to support staff in their roles
• Supporting the mental health of disabled staff
• Understanding disability infographic  
• Understanding workplace adjustments infographic
• Employing deaf and hard of hearing staff in the NHS

Case studies and blogs

• Providing rapid-access mental health services for NHS staff- Learn how Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust created a rapid-access mental health service to support its staff. 
• Improving disability declaration rates at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust- Find out how Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation trust improved their disability declaration rates.
• Using the Empowerment Passport to support disabled health learners – Find out about a digital passport that allows disabled learners, trainees, and apprentices to share adjustments to improve their transition into the NHS workforce.
• Taking proactive action for disabled health learners - Learn how positive action can be used lawfully to overcome or minimise any disadvantage connected to a person’s disability. 

Webinars and Podcasts

• Disability discrimination and reasonable adjustments webinar - Watch the recording of this webinar to hear what your legal duty is as an employer to make reasonable adjustments and relevant case law.
• Listen to our hidden disabilities uncovered podcast to hear Paul Deemer, head of diversity and inclusion, NHS Employers, talking to Pauline Hogarth, chair of the disability staff network group, Able@NEAS, North East Ambulance Service, and Sandi Wassmer, CEO, the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion (enei). 
• Listen to our new workplace adjustments podcast to hear Roxanne Steel, Accessibility and Inclusion Specialist, Diversity and Ability in conversation with Lydia Warren, inclusion project officer WDES, Barts Health NHS Trust, and Angela Peake, differently-abled buddy scheme project manager, North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust. 

The UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities is held annually on 3 December. 

#PurpleLightUp is a global movement led by PurpleSpace that celebrates and draws attention to the economic contribution of the 386 million disabled employees around the world. It is held annually as a mark of respect to the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) held annually on 3rd December. 

You can find resources including zoom backgrounds, graphics and a guide of how to support the campaign on the PurpleSpace website.

Bookings for our virtual Disability Summit are now open. Taking place on 19 March 2025, this is an unmissable event for anyone in the health and care sector looking to create a more inclusive working environment for people with disabilities.

Find out more and book your place.