Pledge to cut hearing aid waits
12/03/2007
The Department of Health has finally published its action plan for tackling the disgracefully long waiting times for NHS digital hearing aids today. Some patients, say the RNID, have had to wait as long as five years for replacement hearing aids.
The new guidance means that people should now receive modern digital hearing aids on the NHS, with health trusts are being told to ensure people with routine hearing problems are assessed for a hearing aid within six weeks.
It also advises the NHS to set up one-stop shops to speed up assessment and fitting, and to use the private sector to help tackle demand. Patients with complex problems who need to see a consultant should be seen within 18 weeks.
Health minister Ivan Lewis insisted that the long delays had not been due to problems with staffing or funding.
Dr John Low, Chief Executive of RNID, says: "On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of people who are waiting for a hearing aid, the RNID welcomes the Department of Health's action plan to bring all NHS hearing aid provision within the 18 week waiting time framework by December 2008.
"We would prefer much earlier, but if implemented, this will be very good news for deaf and hard of hearing people whose lives can literally be transformed by fitting a modern digital hearing aids.
"The commitment to purchase substantial additional capacity from the private sector is particularly welcome since the NHS will not be able to fit hearing aids to 300,000 extra people through productivity gains alone."
A recent report by Conservative MP Grant Shapps found that average waiting times were 40 weeks, with reassessments taking over a year. Mr Lewis said there was no justification for the delays as there was already enough cash in the system. "We accept that waits in some parts of the country are unacceptably long and this plan sets out how we will work with the NHS to reduce them and at the same time deliver high quality services closer to home."
Dr John Low also pointed out that the plans were "challenging", and in order to be successful they would require strong leadership by the Department of Health, as well as committed support from across the NHS to increase capacity.