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Islington Tribune - by JAMIE WELHAM
Published: 25 January 2008

Wait for hearing aids too long, health bosses admit

PATIENTS face a wait of up to a year to have hearing aids fitted, new figures reveal.
Only 10 primary care trusts (PCTs) have longer waits than Islington’s average of 50 weeks, from referral to fitting.
The figures, obtained under a Freedom of Information request to England’s 152 PCTs by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), reveal that there are 664 people waiting to be fitted with a hearing aid in Islington.
RNID director of communications Brian Lamb said: “If you struggle to pick up every word, hearing aids are a lifeline to work, friends and family.
“Despite government assurances, an 18-week target is a distant dream for thousands of people waiting over a year for their hearing aid, who are battling isolation and depression because of their hearing loss.
“We want 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.”
The RNID is calling on the government to put pressure on local health bosses to bring waiting times down to 18 weeks.
About one person in seven in Islington has some level of deafness, from being hard of hearing to being profoundly deaf.
An Islington PCT spokesman said: “The PCT acknowleges that 50 weeks is an unacceptably long time for patients to wait for hearing aids.
“The PCT is currently working with its local provider of routine tests and hearing aids – the Whittington Hospital – to ensure that waiting times are reduced in line with the government’s target of 18 weeks from referral to treatment by December 2008.
“The PCT has committed additional resources to this service and expects significant improvements in current waiting times to be made by March.
“Patients requiring an appointment with an ear, nose and throat consultant are seen more quickly.”

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