Health Service Journal interviews Disabled NHS Directors Network co-chairs

Kate Smyth and Peter Reading have been interviewed by Health Service Journal. A copy of the full article can be found here: National plan needed to end discrimination against disabled NHS staff, say leaders | News | Health Service Journal (hsj.co.uk)

Peter is quoted as saying: “Disability is the ‘Cinderella’ of the protected characteristics, I think it is fair to say, within the NHS.

“The establishment of the WDES team was a really positive step forward. It was a recognition that disability needs to have real investment and support to reduce discrimination and so on, and the data demonstrates that disabled staff are seriously disadvantaged across almost all the employment and management practices that are measured.

“That said, I think it is also fair to say that what it [the WDES] measures is fairly limited. There is a need to go up a couple of gears, really, in terms of supporting disabled staff and patients with disabilities… We [as co-chairs] are keen to do is help them go up those couple of gears and that is the work we are doing at the moment.”