The current average wait time to get an assessment at UCLH this year is 48 weeks, which is eight times the NHS recommendation of six weeks.
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Data obtained exclusively by City News finds that patients of University College London Hospital Trust (UCLH) wait, on average, almost twenty months to be assessed and fitted for hearing aids.
The current average wait time to get an assessment at UCLH this year is 48 weeks, which is eight times the NHS recommendation of six weeks.
After the assessment, a hearing aid fitting is required, which on average takes a further 38 weeks at UCLH. In total, Londoners using this service are facing up to an 86-week wait for their hearing aids in total.
Having to wait for your hearing aid can lead to long-term illnesses such as dementia, depression, social isolation, and loss of balance, according to a report by the Royal National Institute of Deaf People (RNID), a national hearing loss charity.
Kirsty, deaf advocate, and content creator for the podcast Socially Sound, told City News that she isn’t surprised about the wait time, and this makes the community feel like they’re not a priority.
Kirsty explains her experience with the service delays
The RNID produced a report earlier this month which found wait times had been extended because of “reduced capacity due to staff shortages and inadequate funding, which has been exacerbated by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Currently, 12 million adults in the UK are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus. This is expected to rise to 14.2 million by 2035, according to the NHS Diagnostic Waiting Times and Activity Data.
NHS England says that “five million people could benefit from hearing aids who don’t have them” and that “audiology services are still not performing the level of activity seen before the COVID-19 pandemic (…) If urgent action is not taken, this number will continue to rise.”
Not all trusts responded to the data request, and wait times vary depending on the service.
UCLH is yet to respond to our request for comment.
If you think you or your child may be suffering from hearing loss, or are seeking support, contact your GP, local hospital, walk-in clinic, or health centre.
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HeadlinePatients at a London hospital are waiting a year for their hearing aids
Short HeadlinePatients wait up to a year for hearing aids
StandfirstThe current average wait time to get an assessment at one London hospital is 48 weeks, which is eight times the NHS recommendation.
Data obtained exclusively by City News finds that patients of University College London Hospital Trust (UCLH) wait, on average, almost twenty months to be assessed and fitted for hearing aids.
The current average wait time to get an assessment at UCLH this year is 48 weeks, which is eight times the NHS recommendation of six weeks.
After the assessment, a hearing aid fitting is required, which on average takes a further 38 weeks at UCLH. In total, Londoners using this service are facing up to an 86-week wait for their hearing aids in total.
Having to wait for your hearing aid can lead to long-term illnesses such as dementia, depression, social isolation, and loss of balance, according to a report by the Royal National Institute of Deaf People (RNID), a national hearing loss charity.
Kirsty, deaf advocate, and content creator for the podcast Socially Sound, told City News that she isn’t surprised about the wait time, and this makes the community feel like they’re not a priority.
Kirsty explains her experience with the service delays
The RNID produced a report earlier this month which found wait times had been extended because of “reduced capacity due to staff shortages and inadequate funding, which has been exacerbated by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Currently, 12 million adults in the UK are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus. This is expected to rise to 14.2 million by 2035, according to the NHS Diagnostic Waiting Times and Activity Data.
NHS England says that “five million people could benefit from hearing aids who don’t have them” and that “audiology services are still not performing the level of activity seen before the COVID-19 pandemic (…) If urgent action is not taken, this number will continue to rise.”
Not all trusts responded to the data request, and wait times vary depending on the service.
UCLH is yet to respond to our request for comment.
If you think you or your child may be suffering from hearing loss, or are seeking support, contact your GP, local hospital, walk-in clinic, or health centre.
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