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Commentary
Neurodivergence and the healthcare workforce: a hidden facet within equality, diversity and inclusion?
  1. Clare Granger1,
  2. Zain Hameed2,
  3. Rebecca Kelly3,4
  1. 1 Directorate of Primary Care and Public Health, NHS England, North West, Liverpool, UK
  2. 2 Office of the Chief Dental Officer England, Medical Directorate, NHS England, London, UK
  3. 3 Department of Oral Surgery, University Dental Hospital of Manchester, Manchester, UK
  4. 4 Workforce, Training & Education, NHS England, Leeds, UK
  1. Correspondence to Clare Granger, NHS England, North West, Liverpool, L3 4BL, UK; clare.granger{at}nhs.net

https://doi.org/10.1136/leader-2023-000809

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Overview

Current pressures within healthcare systems, alongside persistent global workforce shortages, have led to an increased focus on effective recruitment and retention of healthcare staff. Workforce strategies clearly identify the relationship between organisational culture and recruitment/retention, highlighting the need to develop compassionate, fair and inclusive working environments where all staff can thrive, regardless of their individual differences.

It is estimated that 15%–22% of the world’s population exhibits some form of neurodivergence, yet this is a difference that is often overlooked in the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) conversation. Indeed, to cultivate social justice within the workplace, neurodivergence should be understood as a type of human diversity and valued as we would value other diversities such as gender, race, class, sexuality or ethnicity.

Neurodivergence refers to having a brain that functions in ways that diverge from a prevailing norm or ‘typical’ way of thinking, and traditionally this group may have been stigmatised by the challenges they face in the ‘neurotypical’ workplace. However, there is a growing agenda for inclusivity of such differences and an increasing recognition of their potential capabilities and strengths. Business, finance and technology sectors have been progressive in introducing targeted recruitment/retention processes and accommodations to support staff who are neurodivergent, but it must be questioned what is being done within the healthcare sector?

This article will explore the importance of inclusion of this staff group within EDI policies. We discuss strategies for inclusive recruitment/retention and present reasonable adjustments and resources which can benefit a wide range of healthcare employees.

Introduction

Neurodiversity was first conceptualised by Singer, who pioneered the neurodiversity civil rights movement in the late 1990s.1 2 This paradigm recognised that there is a breadth of human cognitive functioning, with the term ‘neurodiverse’ referring to the full range of cognition that exists, including those whose thinking is typical …

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Footnotes

  • Contributors CG and RK wrote the original draft. All three authors (CG, RK and ZH) were involved in editing the original draft. CG and RK were responsible for revising the submissions and constructing the final version for publication. CG and RK are considered joint first authors. This work reflects the views of the individual authors and not their affiliated organisations.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.