This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/health/7162990.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Waits for hearing aids 'too long' | Waits for hearing aids 'too long' |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Some people in England are facing waits of nearly two-and-a-half years for an NHS hearing aid, the RNID charity says. Among 99 primary care trusts, it found 10 were not treating people within a year, with the longest wait of 125 weeks in Kingston-upon-Thames, London. | |
| The average wait for treatment was 22 weeks and the shortest four weeks. The RNID urged the government to do more to meet a pledge of 18-week maximum waits. | |
| The government said some waits were too long but progress was being made. | The government said some waits were too long but progress was being made. |
| An 18-week target is a distant dream for thousands of people waiting over a year for their first hearing aid Brian Lamb, RNID director of communications | An 18-week target is a distant dream for thousands of people waiting over a year for their first hearing aid Brian Lamb, RNID director of communications |
| Health Minister Ivan Lewis has pledged that by December 2008 all patients with hearing or balance problems that require care from a hospital consultant will be treated within 18 weeks. | Health Minister Ivan Lewis has pledged that by December 2008 all patients with hearing or balance problems that require care from a hospital consultant will be treated within 18 weeks. |
| And all other patients with routine hearing loss should be assessed within six weeks. | And all other patients with routine hearing loss should be assessed within six weeks. |
| The RNID wrote to England's 152 primary care trusts to assess the situation and among the 99 that replied, the average wait for a hearing aid was 22 weeks, affecting 28,384 people. | The RNID wrote to England's 152 primary care trusts to assess the situation and among the 99 that replied, the average wait for a hearing aid was 22 weeks, affecting 28,384 people. |
| Sixty-six PCTs said they were providing treatment within 18 weeks. | Sixty-six PCTs said they were providing treatment within 18 weeks. |
| Mixed picture | Mixed picture |
| Patients at the Norfolk and Norwich PCT, Southampton City PCT and Bolton PCT were treated within four weeks. | Patients at the Norfolk and Norwich PCT, Southampton City PCT and Bolton PCT were treated within four weeks. |
| But there were waits of over one year in nine PCTs other than Kingston-upon-Thames - Suffolk (78 weeks), Gloucestershire (72), Tyne and Wear: Washington Health Centre (68), Ealing (67), Havering (64), Tyne & Wear: Sunderland Royal Hospital (62), Shepway (58), Mid Essex (56) and South Tees (54). | But there were waits of over one year in nine PCTs other than Kingston-upon-Thames - Suffolk (78 weeks), Gloucestershire (72), Tyne and Wear: Washington Health Centre (68), Ealing (67), Havering (64), Tyne & Wear: Sunderland Royal Hospital (62), Shepway (58), Mid Essex (56) and South Tees (54). |
| RNID director of communications Brian Lamb said: "Despite government assurances, an 18-week target is a distant dream for thousands of people waiting over a year for their first hearing aid, who are battling isolation and depression because of their hearing loss. | RNID director of communications Brian Lamb said: "Despite government assurances, an 18-week target is a distant dream for thousands of people waiting over a year for their first hearing aid, who are battling isolation and depression because of their hearing loss. |
| "RNID wants the government to do more to end this scandal, by putting pressure on local health chiefs to take hearing-health seriously and bring down waiting times." | "RNID wants the government to do more to end this scandal, by putting pressure on local health chiefs to take hearing-health seriously and bring down waiting times." |
| A Department of Health spokesman said: "We acknowledge that audiology waiting times in parts of the country are too high, and that is why we recently published a national framework which sets out the tools the local NHS needs to transform this service. | A Department of Health spokesman said: "We acknowledge that audiology waiting times in parts of the country are too high, and that is why we recently published a national framework which sets out the tools the local NHS needs to transform this service. |
| "The framework was developed following extensive work with a range of stakeholders including NHS audiologists, professional bodies and the RNID." | "The framework was developed following extensive work with a range of stakeholders including NHS audiologists, professional bodies and the RNID." |