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Two year waits for hearing aids, too long
April 13, 2004 12:00 AM
Paul Burstow, MP for Sutton and Cheam, has today called on the local health authority to pull out all the stops to cut waiting times in the delivery of digital hearing aids.
In a letter to Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust, Paul Burstow MP has asked what steps have been put in place to ensure the speedy delivery of digital hearing aids, promised by the Department of Health over a year ago.
The Department of Health announced free digital hearing aids in February 2003, to be available to all who need them by April 2005. However, Epsom and St Helier have informed patients that they may have to wait until March 2006 to receive their new hearing aids.
Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust were accepted onto the Government's scheme to roll out the free hearing aids last summer and had hoped to start issuing them by the end of last year, however this was delayed until March 2004.
The Royal National Institute for Deaf People have stated that patients should be able to expect a wait of not more than eight weeks from seeing your GP to a fitting appointment for the hearing aid.
Paul Burstow MP commented:
"Audiology services have for many years been the Cindarella of the health service with longstanding problems of delays and underfunding. However, if local patients are having to wait another two years from now until receiving their new digital hearing aids, that is an unacceptable delay.
"I am calling on Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust to pull out all the stops to ensure that local patients are fitted with the new digital hearing aids as quickly as possible, and are pursuing all options including the use of high street dispensers to keep waiting times to a minimum."
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