Deaf children to benefit from new audiology good practice guide

Audiology services for deaf children and their families are set to improve, following the publication of a good practice guide from the Department of Health. NDCS campaigned for and contributed to the new guidelines which will support local services in improving the quality and availability of hearing services.

Transforming Services for Children with Hearing Difficulty and their Families: A Good Practice Guide offers practical advice on setting up local audiology networks made up of a wide range of professionals, healthcare providers and families of deaf children. NDCS welcomes the importance given to parents in becoming equal partners in the network that cares for their deaf child.

 “In 2007, the Government published a national framework for audiology services which completely ignored the needs of deaf children,” explained Brian Gale, NDCS Director of Policy and Campaigns. “This omission and the concerns expressed to us by many parents with deaf children about the standard audiology services, led us to lobby Government Ministers to look at how audiology services for deaf children can be improved.

“We are delighted that the government responded so positively to our calls and are pleased with the emphasis it gives to the role of deaf children and their families in shaping the development of audiology services locally," added Gale. "Access to appropriate audiology services is vitally important for deaf children’s development and educational achievement. We will now therefore be looking carefully at how these important guidelines are implemented.”

NDCS believes that if implemented the guidance will reduce the unacceptable variation in the quality of service between different Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), ensure that as much care as possible can be delivered close to the child’s home, provide rapid access to specialist expertise if needed and reduce waiting times.