Consultant Editors Lynda Sibson, Ian Peate, Pete Gregory Editor Aysha Mendes jpp@markallengroup.com Commercial Manager Frankie Bramble frankie.bramble@markallengroup.com Group Classified Manager Daniel Doherty julia.stevens@markallengroup.com Production Manager Kyri Apostolou Production Assistant Jamie Hodgskin Content Development Director Tom Pollard Editorial Director Sophie Gardner Managing Director Anthony Kerr anthony.kerr@markallengroup.com Associate Publisher Mike Shallcross Publisher Anthony Kerr Chief Executive Officer Ben Allen
Editorial Board Guillaume Alinier Director of Research, Hamad Medical Corporation Ambulance Service, Doha, Qatar; Professor, Simulation in Healthcare Education, University of Hertfordshire, UK Ayesha Bal Paramedic, West Midlands Ambulance Service Trust, UK Aidan Baron Extended Care Paramedic and Clinical Lead, Community Health Support NSW, Australia; Visiting Researcher in Urgent and Emergency Health Care and Workforce Research, Kingston University London, UK Tony Bleetman Consultant in Emergency Medicine; Honorary Associate Professor, University of Warwick Medical School, Coventry, UK Malcolm Boyle Associate Professor and Academic Lead in Paramedic Education, Program Director Paramedicine Programs Griffith University, Australia Dr Mike Brooke Doctor and Advanced Paramedic, Tameside Hospital NHS Trust/North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust UK Tanoh Asamoah-Danso Paramedic, East of England Ambulance Service Trust, UK David Davis FCPara, Chief Clinical Information Officer, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust; Fellow, College of Paramedics; Fellow, British Computer Society (BCS), UK John Donaghy Senior Lecturer, Paramedic Science, Anglia Ruskin University, UK Georgette Eaton Consultant Paramedic (Urgent Care), London Ambulance Service NHS Trust, UK Kerry Gaskin Principle Lecturer, Advancing Clinical Practice; Academic Lead, CPD and Paramedic Science, Allied Health and Social Sciences Academic Unit, University of Worcester, UK Pete Gregory Head of Allied Health Professions, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, UK Sigurd Haveland Paramedic and Divisional Clinical Lead, Primary Care and Emergency Services, Gibraltar Health Authority
Andrew Kirk Assistant Director for Education and Organisational Development, East Midlands Ambulance Trust, UK Joanne Mildenhall Paramedic Team Leader, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust, UK Dr Tom Mallinson Prehospital Doctor, BASICS Scotland, UK Ian Mursell Consultant Paramedic, East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust, UK Ian Peate Viiting Profesor, Northmbria University, UK John Renshaw Senior Lecturer in Paramedic Science, Wolverhampton University, UK Alan Rice Associate Professor, Paramedic Practice, Department of Paramedic Science, Kingston University and St George’s, University of London, UK Lynda Sibson Telemedicine Manager, East of England Stroke Telemedicine Service, Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, UK Ceri Sudron Senior Lecturer and Paramedic Science Course Lead, University of Wolverhampton, UK Kacper Sumera Deputy Head of Education, East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK Sammer Tang Public Health Registrar, Gloucestershire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UK James Taylor Project Manager, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK. Carl Webster Senior Lecturer and Paramedic Science Course Lead, Nottingham Trent University, UK Mark Woolcock Consultant Paramedic; Lead Clinician, Cornwall Health Out-of-Hours Aimee Yarrington FCPara, Clinical Team Mentor and Midwife, West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS University Foundation Trust, Shropshire, UK
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EditorialEditorial
Workforce diversity
World Mental Health Day takes place on 10th October 2024, with this year’s theme being: ‘It is time to Prioritise Mental Health in the Workplace.’ While there has been a perceivable increase in the interest in and quantity of literature related to the mental health and wellbeing of the ambulance workforce – and in particular, the consideration of trauma, complex trauma and working conditions – this is arguably missing other potential contributing factors to paramedic and EMS personnel wellbeing challenges.
One area in which there is a breadth of knowledge and research is the relationship between certain neurodiverse conditions and mental health. For example, individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism are known to experience higher rates of anxiety, depression and suicidality than the general population (Sayal et al, 2018).
Adult ADHD has experienced greater awareness, diagnosis and treatment options in recent years. Only in 1994 was it acknowledged that ADHD could persist from childhood into adulthood in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–IV), and only in the DSM–V in 2013 was adult ADHD mainstreamed. Anecdotally, it is widely considered that emergency services roles are well suited to individuals with ADHD. While limited literature supports this, Sedgwick et al (2018) considered the positive attributes of ADHD in investigating successful adults. Some individuals with ADHD describe aspects of their neurodiversity as a superpower, and these authors recognised that such individuals thrived in high-intensity and fast-paced environments where quick thinking, impulsivity and hyperfocus can be advantageous in critical, rapidly-changing situations. Other superpowers that may benefit patients might include hyper-empathy and heightened intuition/emotional perception.
In the late 1990s, Sachs (1997) undertook research as part of the USA National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Programme and found that, in the fire department surveyed, the prevalence of ADHD was five to six times higher than that of the general population (18.5% vs 2.1–3.5%). The author noted that Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein all had ADHD. While there is other grey literature supporting the likely increased prevalence of ADHD in the paramedic/EMS workforce, meaningful quantitative and qualitative research needs to be undertaken. What if, despite the best of intentions, the sector has missed an opportunity to improve the workforce mental health and wellbeing of the ambulance and EMS sector? Might it be the case that investments in the diagnosis, treatment and creation of a neuro-inclusive environment that seeks to maximise the capabilities and superpowers of those with ADHD, celebrating the brilliance but supporting the challenges, may significantly benefit the workforce and patients? As the world focuses on mental health and workforce wellbeing, is it not time for our sector and profession to prioritise ADHD and other neurodiversity to ensure we maximise the wellbeing and contribution of this valuable part of our workforce? JPP
David Davis was diagnosed with adult ADHD in 2023. References Sachs GM. Dealing with attention defecit/hyperactivity disorder. 1997. https://apps.usfa.fema.gov/pdf/efop/
efo10644.pdf (accessed 20 September 2024) Sayal K, Prasad V, Daley D, Ford T, Coghill D. ADHD in children and young people: prevalence, care pathways, and service provision. Lancet Psychiatr. 2018;5(2):175–186. https://doi.org/10.1016/S22150366(17)30167-0. Epub: 2017 Sedgwick JA, Merwood A, Asherson PJE. The positive aspects of attention defecit hyperactivity disorder: a qualitative investigation of successful adults with ADHD. ADHD Atten Def Hyp Disord. 2018;11:241–253. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12402-018-0277-6
David Davis is editorial board member of Journal of Paramedic Practice
Journal of Paramedic Practice • Vol 16 No 10
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