20 December 2024

NCHA member update - 20 December

This month:

• IT security update
• Long waits continue for NHS audiology
• NHS England explains how to report audiology data
• Investigating variation in NHS hearing aid services
• ENT group appoints new leadership team
• Charities offer tips for deaf-friendly Christmas
• NCHA opening hours over the festive period
• Ears to the ground
• Health policy

IT security update

Following our member alert yesterday, if you received an email titled 'Confidential & Privileged - FODO [FFW-DOCs.FID6742637]', please do not follow the link in that email, simply delete the email. It was not sent by anybody at FODO.  The email was a phishing scam. If you have any questions about this, please email [email protected].

Long waits continue for NHS audiology

NHS England published diagnostic data showing 42% of patients waiting for an audiology assessment had been waiting for six weeks or more at the end of October. This was the highest proportion -of all diagnostic procedures and a five-percentage point increase compared to last year. Audiology was also the test with the highest average monthly growth in the past year.
 
Nationally, the operational standard that less than 1% of patients should wait six weeks or more from referral for a diagnostic test was not met in any of the 15 tests listed. At the end of October 2024, 1,630,100 patients were still waiting for a diagnostic test - an increase of 33,800 (2.1%) from October 2023.

NHS England explains how to report audiology data

NHS England has produced guidance in response to "significant inconsistency" among audiology departments regarding how they publish their activity and waiting times for collecting DM01 data.
 
DM01 records two data sets, which are fed back to NHS England for monthly diagnostics reports. These are "diagnostic activity," or the number of tests delivered that month, and "waiting times", which refer to how long patients have been waiting for their test on the last day of the review month.

Investigating variation in NHS hearing aid services

The RNID has published a research note on NHS hearing aid services, following a survey of service users within its community.  
 
The RNID report states "that due to the overall sample size there were small numbers of respondents in some groups" and that it is "important to note that the sample size is limited, particularly when comparing data across different providers, which impacts the generalisability of the results." 
 
Therefore, the RNID report focuses on a small sample of just 77 people who accessed an NHS hearing care service on the high street and 450 in hospitals.
It goes on to explain that 28 respondents that accessed NHS care out of hospital had Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids, compared to 40 that did not, and 140 that accessed hospitals did not have this enabled, while 280 did.
 
The RNID asked NHS patients accessing high street providers whether private hearing aids were discussed, but it is unclear if patients accessing care in NHS hospitals were asked about this, although some NHS hospitals also provide private hearing care. The RNID survey reported c.17 patients that said that when they accessed an NHS service on the high street they reported being told about buying private hearing aids.  
 
The Report goes on to state that 88% of patients reported having follow-up and aftercare. The survey also found that 58% of patients were not aware of the 2023 government initiative and recent NHS priority to offer self-referral to NHS audiology services. In addition, finding only 16% of respondents were given a choice of provider for their hearing care by their GP.
 
Harjit Sandhu, CEO at the Association for Primary Care Audiology Providers said: "We agree with the RNID, patients should be able to self-refer to NHS audiology and have a choice of provider. We also agree that patients should have access to quality hearing care, free at the point of use on the NHS. If NHS patients are advised to buy private hearing aids from an NHS hospital or NHS high street provider, they should report this to the provider organisation so it can be acted on as it should not be happening."  
 
"More importantly, we already know there is a major crisis in NHS ear and hearing care, paediatric services have significant and structural quality issues, audiology has one of the worst diagnostic waiting times in the NHS hospital service, ENT is under massive pressure, and far too many patients cannot access the aftercare and follow-up they need. The key now is for the government to deliver its 10 Year Health Plan and ensure NHS hearing care is designed around patients' needs and wishes".   

ENT group appoints new leadership team

Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT), an initiative to tackle long waiting lists for ENT treatment, has appointed the following people to its leadership team:

• Jeremy Davis, consultant ENT surgeon at Medway NHS Foundation Trust
• Sujata (Su) De, paediatric ENT surgeon at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool and the national specialty adviser for specialised surgery in children for NHS England
• Puveendran Arullendran, consultant in otolaryngology at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust.
• Annakan Navaratnam, ENT consultant surgeon at the Royal National ENT Hospital, UCLH NHS Foundation Trust, and an honorary consultant at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.

The team, which takes over from the former ENT clinical lead Frank Stafford, will concentrate on developing new models of care to reduce patients waiting a long time, with a fresh focus on paediatrics. ENT UK has published guidelines to enhance service efficiency while ensuring patient safety amid concerns about mounting pressures due to backlogs. 

Charities offer tips for a deaf-friendly Christmas

Christmas may be a time for joy and celebration, but it can also be challenging for people with hearing difficulties.
 
The National Deaf Children's Society offers some practical tips on improving deaf awareness at the dinner table and watching films, playing games and talking in groups.. At the same time, the Royal National Institute for the Deaf encourages people to speak to their elderly relatives about hearing loss if they feel they could be missing out.

NCHA opening hours over the festive period

Please note that our operating hours for the Christmas and New Year period are:

• 25-26 December: Closed
• 27 December: Closed - out-of-hours support available to members
• 30-31 December: Closed - out-of-hours support available to members
• 1 January: Closed

Members who need support outside hours should email [email protected]. We will get back to you within 2 working days. We will also provide a contact number for urgent matters if you email us.
 
Our next newsletter will be on 31 January. In the meantime, we wish you all a nice festive break. This year instead of sending Christmas cards we are donating £50 to SignHealth.

Ears to the ground

• Last chance to apply for the HCPC Council Apprenticeship scheme, which offers registrants boardroom experience and skills as non-executive directors.
• The HCPC outlines how to speak up at work about any concerns regarding improper practice, in its new whistleblowing policy document.
• BSA publishes amended practice guidance on the Acoustics of Sound-field Audiometry. Read more.
• NHS England has invited everybody working in primary care, in clinical and non-clinical roles, to share any final reflections of what they wish to see in a new EDI Improvement Plan. Fill out the survey to offer ideas and thoughts on what could be included. The survey closes on 3 January.
• American rockstar Alice Cooper talks about the reality of hearing loss for many musicians and how hearing aids have helped him.

Health policy

• DHSC and NHS England announced a review of the NHS workforce plan, which will be published after the 10 Year Health Plan next summer and revised every two years. They note the plan should be rethought given the government's aim to shift from hospital to community. They point out how the original workforce plan would have increased hospital consultants by 49%. However, the equivalent rise in fully qualified GPs would have been just 4% between 2021 and 2022 and 2036 and 2037.
• HM Treasury has launched phase two of its Spending Review. It states that phase two will "prioritise delivering the government's missions. As part of this, departments will be expected to make better use of technology and seek to reform public services to support delivery of the government's plans for a decade of national renewal." In its response, the NCHA will consider potential implications for NHS ear and hearing care.  To contribute to this work, please email [email protected]
• The Royal College of Physicians has published a guide on modernising outpatient care. The guide includes nine principles for efficient and effective outpatient care. It includes promoting safe and effective delegation and rethinking the concept of follow-up care into diagnostic and treatment phases and, in some cases, a support phase.