19 December 2014

Hearing providers’ fight for patients’ needs

The major representative organisations for hospital and community hearing care providers are working together to protect patients’ access to high quality NHS hearing care.

The British Academy of Audiology (BAA), British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists (BSHAA) and National Community Hearing Association (NCHA) are working together as the ‘voice of providers’ to ensure people with hearing loss get access to the NHS services and support they need. They are calling for a hearing care system designed around patients’ needs as key partners within the Hearing Loss and Deafness Alliance (HLDA).

The need for joint action is driven by recommendations from the International Longevity Centre’s Commission on Hearing Loss report, developments in North Staffordshire where the local Clinical Commissioning Group inappropriately proposed to cut NHS provision of hearing aids for people with mild to moderate hearing loss and NHS England’s Five Year Forward View which calls for a change in culture and greater investment in preventative care.

Alison Walsh, President of the BAA, said: “In 2014 key stakeholders from the hearing care sector came together to fight the controversial proposals by North Staffordshire CCG. The need for a joined up approach and our successes so far, prove that working together to protect the rights of the patients we serve is now more important than ever before. Provider organisations working with patient groups know how the system works, how it can be improved and what is possible within the resources available.”

Harjit Sandhu, Head of Policy at the NCHA said: “Commissioners will have to make considerable savings in the coming years. In the past NHS audiology has been referred to as a Cinderella service because of underfunding and we must work together to ensure those days do not return. We all share the goal of making sure the system continues to meet the needs of an ageing population. There is so much to do and we will achieve more for patients together than by working alone.”

Alan Torbet, Chief Executive of the BSHAA, said: “NHS audiology has been underfunded and overlooked by commissioners and policymakers for many years. With an ageing population every audiologist, whether working in hospital or the community, will want to ensure people have access to high quality NHS hearing care and achieve the best possible outcomes. Together we are best placed to ensure policymakers and commissioners understand what the system can achieve when fairly supported.”

Provider organisations are committed to working with patient groups and commissioners to deliver the NHS Five Year Forward View, ensure services are constantly improving and delivering better outcomes and to meet the hearing needs of a growing and changing patient base that have different expectations and needs from those in the past. They will continue to work with partners in the HLDA by pooling their professional knowledge and understanding of the NHS system and working with commissioners and patient groups to improve access, outcomes and hearing care.