UK Council on Deafness

September 2004 Parliamentary Report

In this Report

• Hearing Aids - Commons Written Answers (7 Sep 2004)
• Deaf Patients (Missed Appointments) - Commons Written Answers (13 Sept 2004)
• Hearing Aids - Commons Written Answers (15 Sept 2004)
• Digital Hearing Aids - Commons Written Answers (16 Sept 2004)

Commons Written Answers (7 Sept 2004)
Hearing Aids

Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost per patient is of (a) an externally-worn hearing aid and (b) a hearing aid fitted to be internally worn.

Ms Rosie Winterton: There are a number of hearing aid types available under the national health service national framework for the supply of hearing aid products. For behind-the-ear hearing aids, prices are in the range of £67 to £195 for digital aids and £31 to £125 for analogue aids. In-the-ear hearing aid prices are in the range of £54 to £66 for analogue aids. These prices are for supply of a single hearing aid only and do not include the costs associated with the provision of the hearing aid service.

Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what date internally-worn hearing aids will be fitted to all NHS patients for whom they are suitable and who request them.

Dr. Ladyman: All audiology departments in England will routinely be fitting digital hearing aids by March 2005 to patients who require them.

There are no plans for the national health service to supply in-the-ear hearing aids routinely to patients.

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Commons Written Answers (13 Sept 2004)
Deaf Patients (Missed Appointments)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated cost to the NHS of missed appointments of deaf or hard of hearing patients was in the latest year for which figures are available.

Dr. Ladyman: Information on the costs of missed appointments in audiology is not collected centrally.

Modernising hearing aid services has improved the quality of life of those people who have received digital hearing aids. It has modernised services to make sure that deaf people receive the most advanced hearing aids available, rather than rely on outdated technology from the 1970s.

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Commons Written Answers (15 Sept 2004)
Hearing Aids

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate has been made of the number of people in Northern Ireland who would benefit from a digital hearing aid who do not yet have one; and what plans there are to increase the number of patients using digital hearing aids.

Angela Smith: There are estimated to be over 100,000 hearing aid users in Northern Ireland, and audiologists consider that around 90 per cent. of these could benefit from a digital hearing aid (DHA).

The new hearing aids were introduced on the health service, on a phased basis, in October 2003 and are supplied to new hearing aid users, if appropriate. It will take a number of years to re-assess every existing user's suitability for a DHA.

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has included the wider provision of the new hearing aids in its Priorities for Action 2004-05, setting a target to supply 5,000 DHAs per year. An additional £0.5 million per year has been provided for this purpose, making a total of £1 million per year allocated to the provision of DHAs.

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients have been provided with digital hearing aids in each of the last 12 months.

Angela Smith: Information on the numbers of persons provided with digital hearing aids is not available for each of the last 12 months. However, during the period from October 2003 to the end of January 2004, approximately 2,000 persons were provided with digital hearing aids.

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Commons Written Answers (16 Sept 2004)
Digital Hearing Aids

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in providing the latest digital hearing aids in Essex; and if he will make a statement.

Dr. Ladyman: Since September 2000, the modernising hearing aid services project has been retaining audiologists and generally modernising services in a phased way to enable them to offer digital hearing aids to people who would benefit from them. The roll-out will be complete by April 2005.

Digital hearing aids require different service delivery models as they incorporate information technology-based assessment and fitting procedures. A total of £30.75 million was made available from 2000 to 2003 for this project and a further £94 million will be available from 2003 to 2005.

I am informed that the audiology department at Southend Hospital National Health Service Trust is now fully funded and up and running. All new patients are fitted with digital hearing aids. There is a programme in place for patients who have an analogue hearing aid to have appointments to have the digital aid fitted if they want one.

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