UK Council on Deafness

December 2006 Parliamentary Report

In this Report

• Questions for Written Answer - 4 December 2006
  • Jenny Willot
  • Macolm Bruce
  • General Practitioner Patient Survey
• Lords Written Answers - 4 December 2006
• Lords Written Answers - 11 December 2006
• Lords Written Answers - 14 December 2006

Questions for Written Answer - 4 December 2006

Jenny Willott (Cardiff Central):To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who are (a) blind or partially sighted and (b) deaf and are in a Pathways to Work pilot programme (i) have received and (ii) are receiving (A) job search and (B) rehabilitation support; and if he will make a statement.

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Malcolm Bruce (Gordon):To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what provisions there will be to assess the particular requirements of deaf and hard of hearing patients in accessing NHS services as part of the GP Patient Survey 'Your Doctor, Your Experience, Your Say'

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General Practitioner Patient Survey

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what provisions there will be to assess the particular requirements of deaf and hard of hearing patients in accessing NHS services as part of the GP patient survey “Your Doctor, Your Experience, Your Say”; pursuant to the questions designed to assess whether patients can easily contact their general practitioner's practice in the forthcoming GP patient survey “Your Doctor, Your Experience, Your Say”, what alternatives to telephone have been considered by her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The general practitioner patient survey “Your Doctor, Your Experience, Your Say” has been developed by the Department to provide a nationally consistent tool for asking all patients for their views on primary care services at practice level. The initial survey will focus on patients' experience of access. Patients' responses will be used by primary care trusts to reward general practices against standards set out in the improved access scheme, which is part of the contract for general practices in 2006-07.

This scheme is intended to incentivise improved access for all patients including those who are deaf and hard of hearing but includes no specific provisions relating to any particular group or category of patients. Accordingly, the questions have been designed to allow patients to report their experience of making contact with GPs using the most common methods such as by telephone or by visiting their practice.

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Lords Written Answers - Blindness/Visual Impairment - 4 December 2006

Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures his Department is taking to ensure that blind people are given support for extra mobility costs.

Mrs. McGuire: People who are blind or have visual impairments and require guidance or supervision from another person when walking out of doors on unfamiliar routes can receive the lower rate mobility component of disability living allowance to help meet their mobility-related extra costs. Blind people who are also physically unable, or virtually unable, to walk, or are both blind and deaf, can qualify for the higher rate of the mobility component.

In addition visually impaired people who are employed or have a job to start could receive help through the Access to Work programme. Access to Work is a specialist disability programme delivered by Jobcentre Plus, which provides practical advice and support to disabled people and their employers to help them overcome work related obstacles resulting from disability. It does this through a system of grants towards the cost of providing support. A grant could be offered to cover the extra cost of using taxis to get to and from work for someone unable to use public transport, or to pay for a travel buddy to allow someone with a new or worsening visual impairment to undertake mobility training and move towards independent travel.

Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make provision for those registered blind and with severe sight problems to receive the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance.

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward proposals to extend eligibility for the higher mobility rate component of disability living allowance to visually impaired people.

Mrs. McGuire: The higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance is for people who are physically unable, or virtually unable, to walk. It is also available to people who are both deaf and blind and require the assistance of another person to walk to any intended or required destination when out of doors because this combination of circumstances means that they are virtually unable to walk. Blind people who are not also physically unable, or virtually unable, to walk can qualify for the lower rate of the mobility component if they require guidance or supervision from another person when walking out of doors on unfamiliar routes. We are discussing with the Royal National Institute for the Blind whether there is scope for improving the help with mobility-related extra costs for blind and partially sighted people.

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Lords Written Answers - 11 December 2006
Health: Audiology

Lord Turnberg asked Her Majesty's Government: What consideration has been given to the maintenance of specialist audiology services within the National Health Service in plans to contract out audiology services to private providers; and

What estimates have been made of the proportion of deaf people able to benefit from a hearing aid who have received such an aid.

Lord Warner: Information on the number of deaf people able to benefit from a hearing aid who have received such an aid is not held centrally.

A national action plan for audiology will be published in early 2007. The action plan will be aimed at improving access and reducing waiting times through a strategic improvement approach for the service. A working group is currently developing proposals for the audiology action plan. It will consider all the services that audiology departments provide, including specialist audiology services. In addition to the development of the action plan, the department has announced the procurement of up to 300,000 audiology pathways to provide assessment, fitting and follow-up. Both these measures will assist in significantly reducing waiting times and will greatly benefit those who receive hearing aids.

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Lords Written Answers - 14 December 2006
Health: Audiology
Lord Turnberg asked Her Majesty's Government: What were the total number of audiologists working in the National Health Service for each of the years 2000 to 2005.

The Minister of State, Department of Health(Lord Warner): Healthcare scientists in audiology were recorded for the first time in the 2004 workforce census. The table shows the number of qualified audiologists since 2004.

Qualified audiologists
Year England (headcount)
2004 1,582

2005 1,651
Source: Non-medical Workforce Census

Lord Walton of Detchant asked Her Majesty's Government:What is their assessment of the extent to which their proposal to contract out most audiology services to the private sector is likely to reduce the availability of digital hearing aids in the National Health Service; and

Whether they have evidence that primary care trusts will be able or willing to commission audiology services contracted out to the private sector sufficiently to satisfy clinical need.

Lord Warner: A national action plan for audiology is currently being developed to address issues around access and waiting times, including developing a strategic model for future service development. The working group that is developing the action plan will be considering the role of all stakeholders (statutory, private and third sector) in delivering an effective service that best meets clinical need.

In addition to the development of the action plan, the department has also announced the procurement of up to 300,000 audiology pathways to provide assessment, fitting and follow-up. Both of these measures will assist in significantly reducing waiting times and will greatly benefit those who receive hearing aids.

The public/private partnership (PPP) for audiology is proving to be very successful. The latest data for October 2006 show that about 50,000 patients have completed pathways through PPP. National Health Service trusts benefit from the increased capacity, competitive pricing and quality of service provision available through the PPP.

The modernising hearing aid services (MHAS) programme resulted in all NHS audiology services routinely fitting digital hearing aids. The development of the national action plan will build on the progress made with MHAS.

Baroness Tonge asked Her Majesty's Government: What steps they are taking to monitor the audiology services provided by the independent sector.

Lord Warner: There is currently a public/private partnership for the provision of digital hearing aids, governed by a national framework agreement. Local National Health Service organisations enter into contracts with independent sector providers underthe terms of the national framework agreement. The agreement includes a number of contract termsto ensure that contractors provide services of appropriate quality to NHS patients. Any issues of quality that cannot be resolved locally may be escalated to the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency.

The NHS is not mandated to use the national framework agreement, and local NHS organisations are able to negotiate their own contracts with the independent sector if they wish. No central monitoring activity is undertaken with regard to locally negotiated contracts, although we would expect that robust governance arrangements are put in place.

A national procurement of audiology services is being undertaken as part of the second phase of the independent sector treatment centre programme. Registration by an independent sector provider with the Healthcare Commission is a prerequisite forall contracts awarded under this procurement. The department also has in place a robust central contract management framework for these services which includes clinical and non-clinical key performance indicators, which cover service levels, patient experience and quality of care.

Baroness Tonge asked Her Majesty's Government: What advice they have given to primary care trusts on the requirement to provide audiology services; and what provision will be made for patients who require follow-up treatment or who have complex needs.

Lord Warner: It is the responsibility of local health services to ensure their populations benefit from modernised audiology services, including patients who require follow up treatment or have complex needs. The modernising hearing aid services (MHAS) programme run by the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) on behalf of the department has resulted in all National Health Service audiology services routinely fitting digital hearing aids since April 2005.

The national framework contract public/private partnership, announced in October 2003, allows NHS trusts to use particular private hearing aid dispensers to see NHS patients. It ensures that the patient receives care to the same standard as applies in the NHS, is provided with the same hearing aids and remains the responsibility of the NHS. A national action plan for audiology will be published in early 2007. The action plan will be aimed at improving access and reducing waiting times for the service. We are developing the plan in close conjunction with stakeholders, with a view to publication in early 2007. The plan will set out strategy, measures, deliverables and timescales.

In addition to the development of the action plan, the department has also announced the procurement of up to 300,000 audiology pathways to provide assessment, fitting and follow up. The development of the action plan will build on the progress made through MHAS and the PPP to improve access to, and provision of, audiology services.

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