PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
RNID'S REPORT, WAITING TO HEAR (7 June 1999)

That this House welcomes the launch of Waiting to Hear, a report on excessive waiting times for NHS hearing tests endured each year by almost 200,000 deaf and hard of hearing people needing hearing aids, in some cases waiting for longer than a year; notes the isolation, frustration and barriers to opportunity and fulfillment that excessive waiting times for hearing tests and hearing aid fitting can exacerbate; notes further that while there are five million people who would benefit from using a hearing aid, excessive waiting times and variations between and within NHS regions in access to and the quality of NHS audiology services, are a significant deterrent to the three million people who would benefit, but who have not had a hearing aid fitted; calls for the Department of Health to adopt RNID's target of two consecutive months, from referral for a hearing test to hearing aid fitting, as the maximum NHS waiting time, to make NHS hearing aid services more user-friendly, and to harness the benefits of new digital hearing aid technology; and urges the Government to ensure the NHS goes digital by providing digital hearing aids as standard within five years.

Sponsored by:
Sir Peter Bottomley (Conservative)