Digital hearing aid waiting times examined
Summary
One in seven people in England suffer from hearing loss of
some kind, and the advent of digital hearing aids has proved of great benefit
to many patients.
This publication from the House of Commons Health
Committee,
‘Audiology
services’ (HC 392)’ examines the Modernising Hearing Aid Services
(MHAS) programme to improve audiology services introduced in 2000.
The programme aimed to provide NHS patients with digital hearing aids, but
the demand from people upgrading from older models was not predicted, leading
to long waiting lists and times.
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How does it affect
me?
If you work in audiology or are a client of the Modernising Hearing
Aid Services programme, this affects you.
The Committee regards the
Government’s new framework for audiology, “Improving access to audiology
services in England”
(Available
to download) as primarily reiterating previous announcements.
A main
concern is that audiology is kept outside the 18-week referral to treatment
target that applies to consultant-led services, which compounds the waiting
time problem. There is a need to increase capacity, and the Department of
Health should undertake an examination of the medium- and long-term demand for
digital hearing aids.
The Committee notes the variation in practice in
NHS audiology departments, and believes many could operate more efficiently.
They should examine the skill mix and levels of training or experience
necessary, and look at more flexible approaches to service provision.
The Report also comments on the involvement of the private sector to provide
additional capacity, and the entry into the market of others such as opticians.
The private services need to be monitored and the quality of care assessed on
the same basis as that used for the NHS.
See the
Department of Health
website.
Find out more about the work of the
House
of Commons Health Committee.