17 May 2024

Government pledge to strengthen patient choice

The NCHA welcomes the government's commitment to expand patient choice to out-of-hospital care, including hearing care.

Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, announced "the largest expansion of choice in a decade" through a pilot scheme that will give patients seeking specialist help a choice between multiple providers across the NHS and the independent sector.

The prime minister said the move was part of a wider plan to cut NHS waiting lists. "From hearing aid care to mental health treatment and diagnostic tests such as endoscopy, our new approach will help speed up treatment, improve the quality of care and ensure that patients have more choice over where they receive treatment," he said.

From autumn, NHS England will engage with integrated care boards (ICBs) to launch pilots for out-of-hospital services in local areas.

ICBs plan to include providers across the NHS, charity and independent sectors to offer services to patients free at the point of use and at NHS costs and standards.

Harjit Sandhu, the NCHA's managing director, said: "We welcome this announcement, which builds on NHS England's commitment to self-referral for audiology. Evidence shows that patients, the NHS and the taxpayer have benefited from offering a choice of provider for adult hearing care. Expanding choice will also help tackle the inequalities in access and outcomes in hearing care services."

In Primary care audiology: accessible ear and hearing care for all, the NCHA sets out the clinical and economic benefits of offering NHS patients a choice of provider for hearing care.