§ Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what qualifications are required to fit digital hearing aids; and how many people qualified to fit digital hearing aids are employed by(a) the NHS and (b) the contractors (i) Ultravox and (ii) Ormerod. [133594]
§ Dr. LadymanAlthough there are significant differences between the way digital and analogue hearing aids are fitted, there is no specific additional qualification to fit digital hearing aids. The Institute of Hearing Research estimates that 659 national health service employees have so far been trained as part of the modernising hearing aid services project to fit digital hearing aids. This includes people whose training has so far been cascaded from those trained directly. The
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Under-doctored PCT as at March 2003 Under-doctored PCT as at March 2003 Under-doctored PCT as at March 2003 Eastern Cheshire North Sheffield Telford and Wrekin Ellesmere Port and Neston Doncaster Central Staffordshire Moorlands Halton Rotherham Newcastle-Under-Lyme North Liverpool Doncaster East South Stoke Central Cheshire Doncaster West North Stoke South Sefton Barnsley Lincolnshire South West Teaching South Liverpool Bradford City Derbyshire Dales and South Derbyshire St. Helens Huddersfield Central Amber Valley Knowsley East Leeds Rushcliffe Middlesbrough Eastern Wakefield Nottingham City Langbaurgh South Leeds West Lincolnshire Sedgefield Calderdale Central Derby Department does not collect information about how many private sector contractors can fit digital hearing aids.