HC Deb 29 October 2001 vol 373 cc559-60W
Miss Kirkbride

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many digital hearing aids have been fitted under the NHS's pilot project on hearing services to date; [9691]

(2) what change there has been to the estimated number of people in England to benefit from the pilot project in digital hearing aids since 18 January 2000. [9692]

Jacqui Smith:

[holding answer 23 October 2001]: By the end of September 2001, 11,080 digital hearing aids had been provided for adults and children as part of the -modernising national health service hearing aid services" project. 10,552 hearing aids were for adults and 528 hearing aids were for children.

Last year, the Department estimated that between 20.000 and 30,000 people would benefit from being involved in the project. We now expect more than 20,000 digital hearing aids to have been prescribed, and 18,000 adults to have digital hearing aids, as part of the modernisation project, by March 2002.

Miss McIntosh

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent estimate his Department has made of the cost of making digital hearing aids universally available among the hard of hearing; [10189]

(2) what recent representations he has received on levels of NHS audiology provision and the availability of digital hearing aids. [10188]

Jacqui Smith

The Department has received recent correspondence from the Royal National Institute for Deaf People about the modernisation of hearing aid services and the availability of digital hearing aids.

The Institute of Hearing Research is evaluating the "modernising national health service hearing aid services" project, which includes collecting information on the cost of providing hearing aids. The evaluation report will help planning of the further modernisation of hearing aid services.

Subject to favourable evaluation, we have earmarked funding to support modernisation of hearing aid services and expect to invest up to an extra £25 million by 2003–04. The cost of providing digital hearing aids will be determined by the speed and scale of modernisation.