More than 1,000 children face waiting times for hearing aid appointments

Plans for a new paediatric audiology ward in Derby have emerged to help more than 1,000 children with “overdue” hearing appointments.

The University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB) is seeking permission to possibly expand the hearing aid service currently based at Royal Derby Hospital.

The plans could see a bigger additional ward set up at the city’s Florence Nightingale Community Hospital to speed up waiting times.

But the Trust says plans are at a very early stage and no decision has yet been made.

The paediatric audiology ward serves to assess, diagnose and manage hearing problems for children. It offers hearing tests, provides support for hearing loss and offers other related hearing services. 

A planning application by the Trust has been submitted to Derby City Council calling for new audiology rooms to be created at the city centre based community hospital. 

It is not clear if any new audiology suite will be constructed at the site or move into an existing building.  

A statement submitted as part of the planning application said the “relocation” of paediatric audiology services “represents a critical step in transforming the quality, accessibility, and sustainability of care for children across Derby and South Derbyshire”.

The planning application’s design and access statement says currently more than 1,000 children are “overdue appointments” in relation to hearing aid. 

It says its current space for the service at Royal Derby Hospital “lacks sufficient clinical rooms, operates out of rooms not configured for audiological assessment, and is forced to use non-soundproof environments in children’s outpatients”. 

It adds current infrastructure “severely limits the service’s ability to meet demand and recover waiting list backlogs”.

The proposal includes two Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA) suites and two soundproof clinical rooms as well as waiting, reception and office space.

Health bosses say the Florence Nightingale Community Hospital’s proximity to the bus and train stations and Derby City Council’s Sensory Support Service will help improve early intervention, school readiness and integrated care. 

Planning documents state there will be no changes to parking at the hospital site should the plans become reality. 

Earlier this year NHS England reported the direct cost to the NHS of managing hearing loss “is estimated to cost up to £450 million a year”.

A spokesperson for the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are proactively exploring ways to reduce waiting times, bring services closer to our communities, and optimise hospital space, with this planning permission forming part of an early scoping exercise to potentially expand paediatric audiology services to an additional site.

“Any decisions taken following this will be made with our patients at the centre, and we will engage with them and their families about any changes to improve how we provide paediatric audiology care.”

A decision by Derby City Council on the planning application is set to be made in the New Year.