News and Developments

NHS Sites Announced for Trials of Digital Hearing Aids

Sunday 28th May 2000

The list of sites where digital hearing aids will be issued as part of an NHS trial has been announced. Below is a copy of government press release.

2000/0307 Thursday 25th May 2000

FIRST WAVE OF SITES FOR DIGITAL HEARING AIDS SELECTED

Details of the twenty NHS Trusts where digital hearing aids will be made available to thousands of patients over the coming two years were announced today by Health Minister, John Hutton.

£4 million will go towards piloting the project this year with further funds available for next year. It will involve the Department of Health, the RNID, the Medical Research Council and NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency. Starting now and during the summer, members of the project team will be working with the successful NHS Trusts to develop their proposals and train staff.

The project will:

• identify the most effective way to introduce digital hearing aids across the NHS.
• evaluate the costs and benefits of leading edge, digital hearing aids for the NHS and associated service changes.

The results of the pilots across the twenty sites will be used to advise audiologists, GP's and others about the best ways of supplying digital hearing aids and delivering different services.

Speaking at the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, John Hutton said:

"This is the first significant change for audiology services in many years. These twenty trusts will be at the forefront of modernising NHS hearing aid services and delivering better care for deaf and hard of hearing patients in the 21st century. The NHS Purchasing and Supply agency is in the process of purchasing hearing aids and we expect them to be available to the Trusts by the end of the Summer. At the conclusion of these projects, we will be in a better position to rapidly introduce this new technology across the NHS in England."

James Strachan, Chief Executive, RNID, said:

"The modernisation of NHS hearing aid services is now at long last underway and will ultimately benefit literally millions of deaf and hard of hearing people. There is overwhelming public demand for digital hearing aids as RNID's Helpline can testify. They can radically improve people's lives.

RNID are working in close partnership with the Department of Health to modernise this service. Half a century ago, RNID was involved in the birth of the NHS hearing aid service. Now we want to ensure that the service is brought into the 21st century and that the benefits of this new and revolutionary technology are made available to all."

NHS Trusts involved in 2000/2001 are:

• Addenbrookes NHS Trust
• James Paget Healthcare NHS Trust
• Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust
• (Royal National Throat, Nose & Ear Hospital) Forest Healthcare NHS Trust
• Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust
• Leeds Teaching NHS Trust
• Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust
• Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust
• East Berkshire Community Health NHS Trust
• Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospitals NHS Trust
• Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust
• Queens Medical Centre University NHS Trust
• Nottingham Sheffield Children's Hospital NHS Trust
• University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust
• Royal Shrewsbury NHS Trust

The NHS Trusts involved from 2001/2002 are:

• City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Trust
• Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust
• United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust
• Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
• The Kings Mill Centre for Healthcare Services NHS Trust

NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. Media enquries only should be made to either Lynn Caddy or Alison Langley in the Department of Health Media Centre.
2. A help line for the project has been set up. The number is: 020-7296-8022. Further information may also be found on the Department of Health website at: http://www.doh.gov.uk

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Disabled Rights Commission Launched

Sunday 30th April 2000

The new Disability Rights Commission was officially launched on Tuesday 25th April 2000 - although there was little or no mention of it in any of the newspapers.

The government issued a press release about the launch the previous week - a copy of which can be seen here.

The new commission is intended to enforce the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). The DDA was first introduced in 1995, and it has long been a bone of contention that there was no commission to enforce the act, which meant that anyone wishing to take action under the DDA had to persue the case themselves.

There are 14 commissioners on the board; of these 10 are disabled including the commission chairman Bert Massie who is a wheelchair user, commission member Evelyn Rank-Petruzzietto who has a learning disability; and commission member James Strachan who is deaf.

The new commission has a website. The address is: http://www.drc-gb.org

For more information on the DDA have a look at the associated government website: http://www.disability.gov.uk

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