28 August 2025

Charities’ open letter to Scottish health minister attacks ‘slow progress’ on audiology recommendations

Joint call for urgent action once again fails to acknowledge the potential for primary care audiology to cut waiting lists by freeing up hospital capacity for children and adults who need medical care.

The NDCS, RNID, the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland and the BAA have written to Jenni Minto, Scotland's public health minister, decrying the lack of progress made since the Independent Review of Audiology Services in Scotland identified "multiple systemic problems" in NHS audiology services in 2023.

The letter was published on 25 August, two years after the report's publication. It stated: "Action taken by the Scottish Government has yet to deliver the transformative change so urgently needed - while other recommendations from the independent review remain partially or wholly incomplete."

The letter follows an update report to the Scottish Health, Social Care and Sports Committee in April. It outlined the progress on the 55 recommendations of the independent review, which identified failings in care quality and delivery to children and adults across Scotland.

The organisations called for the government to "equip audiology services with the resources, workforce, and leadership necessary to deliver the best possible outcomes for deaf children and adults". The letter also specified urgent action in three key areas:

• Evidence of independent safety checks and reviews of staff competency and service performance
• Clear accountability and workforce planning, including reinstating an undergraduate university course to train audiologists
• Routine and transparent reporting of referral to treatment waiting times for health boards, with clear targets for improvement.

NCHA Scotland acknowledges the progress made and agrees that there is an urgent need to deliver transformative change in audiology services. However, like the original report, the letter only tells half the story. The missing element is the use of primary care audiology to increase overall capacity and free up hospital staff, facilities and time for children and adults who need medical intervention.

In May, MSPs held a debate in Holyrood highlighting the exceptionally long waits for NHS audiology care in Scotland and the benefits of shifting more hearing care away from hospitals into the community. 

Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, initiated the debate. She highlighted the benefits of using qualified independent providers for certain NHS audiology services currently performed in hospitals, as is the case in England. Douglas Lumsden, MSP for North East Scotland, said his constituency would be an ideal place for such a community audiology pilot.

Ms Minto reaffirmed the Scottish Government's manifesto to bolster community audiology provision to help free up capacity in the acute sector by putting hearing care on a par with eye care. She said she was discussing this with her civil servants.

NCHA Scotland supports the minister's commitment to taking this forward. However, it hopes the government will recognise that transformative change requires the help of primary care audiology.

Colin Campbell, chair of NCHA Scotland, said: "The current system, where adults in need of audiological care face significant barriers to access and long waits, is deeply unfair. This situation adds to the pressure on hospital departments, which are already struggling to provide high-quality care for children while also seeing adult patients who do not need to be there. We can help the Scottish Government deliver the transformative change that hospital and third sector colleagues are calling for - something that is long overdue."