Update ordered on provision of hearing loss services in Wolverhampton
Health bosses in Wolverhampton have requested an update on the provision of hearing aids and audiology services across the city, any gaps which exist and the the next steps to be taken.
Hearing loss in adults, both on a personal and social level, can lead to isolation, depression, loss of independence and employment challenges. In addition, evidence now shows that hearing loss can be associated with dementia.
In a report to the council’s health scrutiny panel Paul Tulley, Wolverhampton’s managing director for the Black Country Integrated Care Board of Public Health and Wellbeing, said: “One in six people in the UK have some form of hearing loss. Most are older people who are gradually losing their hearing as part of the ageing process, with more than 70 per cent of over 70-year-olds and 40 per cent of over 50-year-olds having some form of hearing loss.
“Around two million people currently have a hearing aid in the UK. However, approximately 30 per cent of these do not use them regularly, and there are a further four million people who do not have hearing aids and would benefit from them.
“There are two audiology services commissioned within Wolverhampton – a community-based, adult hearing assessment service, including hearing aid fitting where required, follow-up and aftercare services for adults aged 55 or over, with suspected or diagnosed age-related hearing loss.
“Also, routine audiology services for people aged over 55 are commissioned through an ‘Any Qualified Provider’ (AQP) approach. This means that any provider who meets the quality standards, the specified contractual terms and the specified tariff set for the service can be commissioned to deliver the service. The main provider of this in Wolverhampton is Specsavers,” he added.
“Patients eligible for the community-based service are referred directly from their GP. This is an NHS service and patients referred to an AQP provider are not charged for the hearing assessment or any subsequent NHS treatment, including the provision of hearing aids.
“The Complex Audiology Service sees patients who do not meet the ‘Any Qualified Provider’ criteria. For example, if they have additional issues such as distressing tinnitus, balance problems, asymmetric hearing loss or are under 55 years of age. This service is provided by the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust with the main department based at West Park Hospital.”
Historically, patients requiring ear wax removal would access their GP for ear syringing, where a large amount of water was injected into the ear canal with the use of a syringe. The water would then be drained from the ear, making it likely that chunks of the ear wax would be drained with it.
Total provision of ear wax removal across the 37 practices in Wolverhampton increased from around 800 procedures in 2019/20 to circa 3,700 procedures in 2022/23.
The council’s health scrutiny panel is due to discuss the report next Thursday.
