Quality standards in healthcare

UK-wide

We are currently working with a UK-wide group of audiology professionals on paediatric quality standards to make sure patients get the same quality of care, no matter where they live.

There are also UK-wide guidelines and procedures:

• British Academy of Audiology (BAA) paediatric quality standards
• British Society of Audiology (BSA) guidelines
• Cochlear implants guidelines (NICE)
• Cochlear implant services quality standards (BCIG)
• Glue ear guidelines (NICE)

England

• Newborn hearing screening standards (NHS England)
• Document

  Quality standards Early years support for children with a hearing loss aged 0 to 5.pdf (1.74 MB)

Northern Ireland

• Newborn hearing screening standards (Public Health Agency)

Scotland

• Quality standards for paediatric audiology services (NHS Scotland)
• Pregnancy and newborn screening: newborn hearing standards (Healthcare Improvement Scotland)

Wales

• Quality standards for children's hearing services (NHS Wales)
• Newborn hearing screening standards (NHS Wales)

All audiology services, hearing aid dispensers and implant centres – whether NHS or private – should be properly registered with the following bodies to ensure compliance with regulations and maintain high standards of care.

• Audiology clinics that work with children should be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
• Hearing aid dispensers should be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
• Doctors working in implant centres should be registered with the General Medical Council (GMC).

Proper registration ensures that these services are accountable, trustworthy, and focused on delivering the best care to patients.

Although not mandatory, we recommend audiologists register voluntarily with the Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) as well.

Currently, there is no nationwide assessment of audiology services, leaving parents and young people unsure if local services meet national standards.

To address the inconsistencies in both access and quality, we encourage all services to become accredited under the Improving Quality in Physiological Services (IQIPS) programme.

The IQIPS programme aims to enhance service quality, patient care and safety for individuals undergoing physiological diagnostics and treatment. Achieving accreditation through this programme brings several benefits:

• Demonstrating service quality: Accreditation provides assurance to patients, commissioners, the NHS Trust and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) about the quality and reliability of the service.
• Identifying areas for improvement: The process helps services recognise areas for growth and resolve any existing issues, including formalising policies and procedures
• Boosting staff morale: Accreditation fosters greater staff motivation, morale, and professional pride by recognizing their efforts and commitment to quality care.
• Support from UKAS: UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) provides helpful, supportive, and constructive guidance throughout the assessment process, ensuring services are supported in their journey toward improvement.
• Efficiency gains: The accreditation process often leads to time-saving improvements and cost efficiencies, benefiting departments in both operational and financial aspects.

The paediatric services improvement programme is a nationally coordinated review of all paediatric audiology services within the NHS in England. It supports services to deliver quality improvement interventions, including identifying and recalling babies and children at risk.

Learn more about the paediatric services improvement programme (NHS England).

If your department is undergoing a review or recall, we can offer support with this process, and we encourage you to signpost families to us. You can use our referral form or ask them to contact our Helpline.