§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress his Department has made on the proposals outlined in his reply of 27 July 1989,Official Report, columns 918–919, on provision of hearing aids; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. FreemanThe Department issued a consultation paper earlier this month inviting comments on the proposed arrangements for setting up and evaluating a number of pilot projects based on the direct referral of patients from their general practitioner to the hospital audiology service. It also invites comments on issues relating to the training of NHS and private sector audiology staff and the provision of commercial hearing aids under the NHS. The consultation paper has been drawn up with the help of outside experts, including two from the audiology field, an ear nose and throat consultant, a community physician and representatives from Mersey regional health authority and the private and voluntary sectors. A copy of the paper has been placed in the Library. Some of the pilot projects, to which the paper refers, will involve contracts between health authorities and the private sector as well as the provision of some part of the hospital audiology service in a community-based setting. We expect to start the projects in the early autumn.