Service pressures in the NHS are hampering disabled and neurodivergent doctors’ access to reasonable adjustments in the workplace, a BMA report warns.

Understaffing and unfeasibly high workloads present a ‘major barrier’ to staff’s ability to obtain changes to their working practices, according to the association’s Disability and Neurodivergence in the Medical Profession survey findings.

A report into the study, which was carried out in May this year and saw 801 doctors and students from across the UK participate, calls for the Government and health service employers to recognise the effect of service pressures by considering the working patterns of disabled staff when planning for safe and adequate staffing levels.  

Among the report’s findings were that, while 67 per cent of respondents say they have notified their employers or medical schools about their disabilities or neurodivergent status, just 34 per cent say it has led to improved support.

‘Obtaining reasonable adjustments is such a struggle that it almost cancels out their benefit,’ one doctor tells the survey.

‘Even though I have reasonable adjustments on paper, they don’t translate well to real life due to poor hospital infrastructure, underfunding of the NHS and low staffing levels.'

‘The normalisation of burnout and working at the top of or even beyond our limits constantly is deeply problematic,’ a medical student tells the association.

‘Exhaustion is often worn as a badge of honour, and struggling with stamina or needing rest is interpreted as a lack of resilience. This culture not only discourages people from seeking help but also undermines the credibility of disabled students and professionals.’

The full publication of the report follows on from interim findings released in August, which found that ableism and a lack of support was driving disabled and neurodivergent doctors out of the NHS.

BMA representative body chair Amit Kochhar said the weight of evidence gathered by the survey was a damning indictment of how overall pressures on the health service were disproportionately affecting disabled and neurodivergent staff.

He said: ‘Much of this report makes for tough reading. The findings of this survey make clear that the medical system is failing many disabled and neurodivergent medical students and doctors.

‘There is now much more understanding of neurodiversity and what it means for people to be neurotypical or neurodivergent. There is greater visibility of disabled and neurodivergent medical students and doctors.

‘Nevertheless, this survey’s findings highlight that the further changes we need to see are not happening quickly enough. We urgently need cultural change to tackle ableist structures and attitudes as well as tangible changes to policies and processes. We need senior leaders to be open to doing things differently.’

The BMA’s report come as figures recently published by the GMC have highlighted significant increases in the number of disabled doctors in the health service. 

In its state of medical education and practice in the UK: workforce report 2025 the GMC revealed that the number of doctors with a declared disability rose by 64 per cent between 2021 and 2024, from 10,614 to 17,451. 

Other findings from the BMA’s report include:

– 47 per cent of respondents were not satisfied with the process for accessing reasonable adjustments at their place of work/study

– 53 per cent were not satisfied with the information available on how to access reasonable adjustments at their place of work/study

– 54 per cent were not satisfied with the time it took to get their reasonable adjustments put in place.

In response to the findings, the report sets out a raft of recommendations aimed at the NHS, medical schools and the Government.

These include new legal requirements that employers and universities respond to requests for reasonable adjustments within two weeks and implement approved changes within a three-month period.

The BMA is also calling for a law that would mandate reporting on disability pay gaps and require workplaces to publish action plans aimed at tackling pay inequalities.

The association is also urging the health service to improve visibility and access to staff occupational health services and that employers and medical schools produce standalone reasonable adjustment policies.

Read the report