09 October 2015

Unanimous: Councillors vote to protect NHS hearing care

• World Older Peoples Day chosen as day to start restricting NHS care for age-related hearing loss

• 5,658 local people sign petition to trigger council debate

• Unanimous vote to reject and review CCG decision

Councillors from across the political spectrum voted unanimously this week to protect NHS hearing care in Staffordshire.

The cuts, which disproportionally affect older people suffering from age-related hearing loss, came into effect on World Older People’s Day on October 1st. Staffordshire County Council agreed that such a policy would undermine local drives to support older people’s health and referred the case to the Secretary of State for Health.

"It takes elected representatives, not bureaucrats, to recognise that hearing aids help older people remain active and independent in their community and that cutting NHS hearing care is the exact opposite of what the NHS’ is supposed to be about,” said NCHA Chief Executive David Hewlett. “This is common sense and accountability in action. It is to be hoped that the NHS will follow their well-reasoned lead."

The decision by North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group to restrict access to NHS hearing aids has been widely criticised by local people, and national professional and patient groups, for being based on flawed evidence. The Council judged that NHS commissioners had underestimated the impact unsupported hearing loss has on individuals and their families, friends and carers.

The Council also expressed concern that local commissioning decisions were not aligned with the Health and Wellbeing Board's strategy to support active ageing. The Council is not alone: theWorld Health Organisation and NHS England also recommend early intervention for hearing loss as part of a healthy ageing strategy.