25 September 2009
Patients with hearing difficulties at Epsom and St Helier hospitals are now waiting just ten weeks for a hearing aid, compared to an average wait of two years at the beginning of 2008.
And the remarkable improvements have now been recognised by the Department of Health, who recently praised the reduction in national waiting times and made special mention of the Trust.
According to Nicola Charlton, the head of the Trust's audiology service, there are two key factors behind the department's incredible turnaround: "Firstly, our staff members worked extraordinarily hard to clear the backlog - we held lots of extra clinics and many members of staff worked six days a week for the best part of a year.
Their commitment to providing patients with a high level of care quickly is obvious, and it's something that I am very grateful for. They all deserve a huge thank you for their dedicated efforts.
"But what makes these short waiting times sustainable is our use of open ear technology. Open ear technology means that we can fit hearing aids without the need to make a mould of the ear first. For patients that are eligible their wait from referral to having a hearing aid is just six weeks."
Previously, patients being fitted with traditional hearing aids needed to have an impression of their ears taken to provide a template for their customised mould. Each patient attended two appointments: one to assess their hearing and take an ear mould and the second, usually four to six weeks later, to fit the aid.
Open ear technology offers an alternative to traditional ear moulds for approximately 60 per cent of patients treated at the Trust (those with profound deafness and severe hearing difficulties require traditional hearing aids).
Its modular structure means the audiologist can fit the right sized tip immediately and the hearing assessment and device fitting can be done in one appointment. And according to many patients, hearing aids made with open ear technology are a lot more comfortable.
By introducing this technology, the team has reduced waiting times and has also increased patient satisfaction.
Mrs Rose Payne, aged 72 from Carshalton, lost her hearing after catching measles in her early teens. She said: "I wasn't stone deaf, but every now and then I'd realise I was struggling to hear properly. I had to turn the TV up really loud and if people turned away from me while they were speaking I'd have to guess what they were saying.
"It was getting a bit embarrassing, so I booked an appointment and was fitted with a hearing aid there and then! I have to say, that as I was leaving the hospital, I was walking on air - to be seen so quickly and to be given me hearing back on the spot was incredible.
"I wouldn't hesitate in recommending the service to anyone that's suffering from hearing loss. It was one of the nicest experiences in a hospital I've ever had!"
Nicola added: "Telling patients that they did need a hearing aid but wouldn't be able to have one for two years was horrible, and really demoralising. The use of the new technology is not only clinically brilliant, but it's also fantastic for the morale of the whole team and for levels of job satisfaction. Since the waiting times were successfully reduced in 2008, audiology hasn't received one formal complaint - and that's great news."
The Trust's audiology department handles approximately 17,000 appointments each year and employs 15 staff. It runs adult and children's services for patients with a range of hearing difficulties.
