15 April 2025

Streeting inquiry to address ‘insufficient’ response to paediatric failings

Wes Streeting has commissioned an independent review into children's hearing services, describing as "unforgivable" the lack of action to address widespread failures in diagnoses and follow-ups that were identified four years ago.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced that Dr Camilla Kingdon, a consultant neonatologist and former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, will chair the review, which will initially report in three months.

"When I was first briefed on the state of paediatric audiology services shortly after becoming health secretary, I was genuinely shocked," Mr Streeting told The Times. "The scale of what has happened to many young children and their families isn't just a failure of services - it is a profound breach of trust."

He described the problems as "typical of the NHS we inherited", listing neglected community healthcare and a culture that "buried problems rather than confronting them head-on".

In December 2021, the British Academy of Audiology published a report about service issues in children's hearing services in NHS Lothian. The report focused on whether children's hearing tests were being conducted effectively and adequately followed up.

Further issues with the diagnosis of hearing issues in newborns and children were identified in an independent review of Scottish NHS trusts in 2023, leading to the Paediatric Hearing Services Improvement Programme. Subsequent assessments of NHS audiology services in paediatric departments across England in 2023 and 2024 identified similar problems. Reported failures include ineffective ABR and VRA testing that missed deafness in young children, sometimes leading to long-term effects on learning and development.

Welcoming the review, David Hewlett, the NCHA's director of policy and strategy, said it was long overdue and that the National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) had highlighted the problems for years. "We hope the review will not repeat past mistakes and work in isolation but will involve all parts of the audiology sector, including the wider sector and primary care audiology. While children are of course the focus of this review, the wider sector can take pressure off busy hospital audiology departments, freeing up more time for children who require hearing aids and adults who need medical intervention.

"It also seems like a good opportunity to re-examine the regulation of hospital audiologists, who do not currently require statutory regulation, to align them with those who work in community settings providing NHS-funded care closer to home."

The inquiry will examine the period from December 2021 to March 2025, focusing on the responses of the DHSC and NHS England to a series of missed diagnoses.

"This review will thoroughly assess how quickly and effectively these serious issues were identified, escalated, addressed, and communicated to the public," a DHSC spokesperson said. "Most importantly, we want to understand the impact on affected children and their families and ensure appropriate improvements are implemented."

The review will focus on three areas:

• The timeliness, robustness, and transparency of the DHSC and NHS England's response.
• The relevant governance arrangements between NHS England and DHSC, focusing on identification and oversight processes, early intervention practices, transparency, and overall governance.
• Improving NHS England's handling of future service failures in similar services.

The review team will hear directly from affected families and those involved in their treatment and support, ensuring their experiences inform the recommendations. The problems identified across multiple trusts have raised concerns about systematic issues in paediatric audiology services, including potential staffing shortages, training gaps or procedural failures.