| Tuesday, 24 January 2006 | |
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MP takes up concerns over audiology waiting times in Parliament Dartford MP, Dr Howard Stoate, expressed strong concern about NHS audiology waiting times in an adjournment debate in the House of Commons last night.The MP requested the debate in the House after receiving a flurry of complaints from patients in Dartford and also the Darent Valley Hospital Patient and Public Involvement Forum about waiting times to have a digital hearing aid fitted. “Waiting times for a digital aid for new patients who don’t have any kind of hearing aid at all is currently 10 months – which is far in excess of the RNID’s best practice guidelines. For patients with an existing analogue hearing aid however the waiting list has only recently been re-opened and the approximate waiting time for a digital conversion is now 32 months,” said the MP. “Waiting times for new patients have fallen significantly in the last year or so, but resource pressures, cramped accommodation and a national shortage of trained audiology staff, mean that the local audiology service is struggling to meet the demand for digital aids which exists in Dartford.” “I have been contacted by a stream of patients, particularly those with existing analogue aids, who are understandably extremely unhappy and frustrated by the length of time that they are having to wait to receive a digital aid. Unfortunately the situation in Dartford is not unusual. Patients up and down the country are facing waits which are just as long or in some cases longer than in this area – which is why I chose to take the matter up at a national level.” Note The audiology service in Dartford and Gravesham is managed and run by Medway NHS Trust via an outreach service at Darent Valley Hospital. |
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© 2008 Dr Howard Stoate - Member of Parliament for Dartford
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