§ 5. Angela Watkinson (Upminster)What action the Government are taking to ensure that digital hearing aids are available to older people who are hard of hearing. [104451]
§ The Minister of State, Department of Health(Jacqui Smith)On 7 February, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health announced an investment of £94 million to support the modernisation of hearing aid services. That will ensure the provision of digital hearing aids on the NHS throughout England by April 2005. Roll-out plans include boosting NHS capacity and improving access for patients by extending public-private partnerships, which will increase access to NHS digital hearing aids on the high street.
§ Angela WatkinsonWhat would the Minister say to my elderly constituents who were eagerly awaiting the introduction of digital hearing aids only to have their hopes dashed when they found that funding was available only for new patients and that elderly patients who already had hearing aids were not eligible at this stage? What hope can she extend to them? Arguably they are the people who, with their failing hearing, need such aids the most.
§ Jacqui SmithThe programme is progressive and it is important that we introduce it in a way that benefits as many people as possible. In such areas as the hon. Lady's—one of the 67 sites that are currently offering digital hearing aids or have been given the training and equipment to start offering them from next April—we have made it clear that people new to hearing aids must be the first to have the benefit of digital, but that people who need their hearing re-assessed or feel that their hearing needs have changed radically can also benefit from digital hearing aids. It will take some time to ensure that the training and equipment are in place, but whereas three years ago no one was getting digital hearing aids on the NHS, we have now issued more than 72,000. We shall ensure by April 2005 that that is an opportunity open to everyone.
§ David Taylor (North-West Leicestershire)I declare an interest in that I am over 55 and have hearing loss due to chronic tinnitus. There are constituents in Leicestershire, especially North-West Leicestershire, who are very grateful for the steady roll-out of digital hearing aids, which have transformed their lives. However, has my hon. Friend reviewed the patchy provision of audiology clinics and how long many elderly people have to wait to have their need for hearing aids measured more specifically than is currently possible? Finally, please, please will my hon. Friend the Minister look again at public-private partnerships? I sense a disaster in the making there.
§ Jacqui SmithMy hon. Friend makes an important point. As we make available on the NHS something that has never been available on it before, we see an increase in demand for hearing aids, including from people who had previously had analogue hearing aids but put them into the cupboard because they had realised that they were not suitable for them. That brings to audiology departments the challenge of ensuring that they can 151WH carry out the whole function of fitting digital hearing aids as quickly as possible. It is precisely because of that that we are taking action to recruit more audiologists. The NHS Modernisation Agency is working with audiology departments to ensure that we have in place the programmes and the efficiency that will enable us to get that service delivered as quickly as possible.
Perhaps I can reassure my hon. Friend about public-private partnerships. We have carried out two pilots, in Leeds and Shrewsbury. The Institute of Hearing Research has evaluated the pilots and found that the outcomes for the 400 people who went through the process were extremely promising. I know my hon. Friend's concerns about the public-private partnerships, but I think that we can use those means to extend people's opportunity to have a digital hearing aid on the NHS as quickly as possible—an opportunity that never existed before.
§ Mr. Desmond Swayne (New Forest, West)Will the Minister acknowledge that the real logjam is in gaining access to an audiologist? That could be greatly relieved if licensed hearing aid dispensers in the private sector could access the NHS contract for digital hearing aids. When will that happen?
§ Jacqui SmithThe real logjam was caused, first, by technology and, secondly, by the willingness of the current Government to invest more than £120 million to ensure that older people could access digital hearing aids on the NHS. The hon. Gentleman must recognise that. His party proposes 20 per cent. cuts, presumably in resources and the staff who are providing NHS hearing aids for older people. It is the policy of the Conservative party to give patients a passport out of the NHS, but it is Labour's policy to ensure that people get on the NHS what they would have to buy under a Conservative Government.
§ Mr. Tim Boswell (Daventry)Does the Minister appreciate that a characteristic problem of many older people is a subtle but progressive loss of hearing intensity, and that they therefore form a significant part of the national population of some 8 million people who are hearing impaired? Given that, does she accept as a matter of principle that there should be absolutely no discrimination against prescribing digital hearing aids to older people and that any older person who is suitable for such a prescription will be entitled to receive one in due course?
§ Jacqui SmithI strongly agree with the hon. Gentleman. I do not know whether he has a particular problem that he wishes to identify, but it is precisely because some 50 per cent. of the over-60s experience some hearing loss that the investment that we are putting into modernising hearing aid services will be so significant to older people. We must ensure that the right processes and suitable equipment and staff are in place to assess people's hearing and to provide that service. I assure the hon. Gentleman that the primary beneficiaries of the policy will be older people, who too often in the past have been discriminated against in the NHS.
I am very pleased that today we have published a report that covers the two years since the introduction of the national service framework for older people, at the 152WH centre of which we put tackling age discrimination. The report shows that significant progress has been made. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will take the opportunity to read it during the suspension that I suspect is about to start.
3.37 pm
Sitting suspended for a Division in the House.
3.50 pm
On resuming—