1. Changing the world for deaf and hard of hearing people Audiology Services: The Patients’ Perspective Shabnum Mustapha Communications and Campaigns Manager RNID Scotland 9 th February 2009

2. Patients’ Perspective RNID consultation event on Patients’ Right Bill, January 2009 ‘It’s a lottery as the health services are good in certain places but bad in others’ ‘When I want to make an appointment with audiology, I have to rely on a friend phoning for me’

3. Patients’ Perspective On waiting times: ‘It depends how serious your situation is: I was told ‘we only see emergency patients’ but then to be classified as an emergency, you have to see a consultant first. It’s a vicious circle. I asked my GP to be referred to another consultant and he advised me to go private. So then I got another GP who got me another appointment with a different NHS Board and that cut the waiting time’

4. Patients’ Perspective ‘The problem is that you have to try a hearing aid on a trial basis and then it can take a long time to tune it, test it in different environments such as the pub, outside, in the car, etc. It takes a lot of time and some NHS services cannot provide the support.’ ‘The NHS only provides one type of hearing aid. We need to see a range of products otherwise it’s a bit like going to a shoe shop and all the shoes available are in size 6.’

5. Patients’ Perspective ‘At the hearing clinic, one of the nurses shouts patients’ names and wonders why nobody replies.’ ‘The audiologist takes off your hearing aid and then he goes on talking, expecting you to understand’

6. Patients’ Perspective ‘I had been using the private sector for 12 years but then last year I went back to the NHS. I recently needed a new hearing aid and from start to finish it took only two months’ ‘[the NHS] is a high quality service – the best health service in the world.’ Mixed views about using the private sector.

7. Patient-Centred Approach Assumption - the reduced wait is here to stay and be improved upon Broad interest groups around the table User/patient involvement Practicing audiologists Service commissioners Primary care Other stakeholders e.g. deaf organisations to advise on post- diagnostic support Real opportunities for progress

8. Five Priorities 1. Reduce waiting times 2. Quality assurance and enhancement 3. Move routine hearing aid provision out of the acute hospital 4. Implement hearing screening for adults 5. Provide ongoing support

9. Reduce waiting times 2006 audit - 26 week target Average wait was 33 weeks Ranged from 12 weeks to 92 weeks 18 week target by 2011 Waiting times available from April 2009 18 Weeks: Referral to Treatment Standards. Principles and Definitions Patients’ Rights Bill – waiting time guarantee

10. Quality assurance and enhancement Quality standards in audiology – Scotland-wide Peer review and sharing best practice Properly monitored and used as a tool to help audiologists improve Patients integral to the process Practical change – waiting room experience

11. Move routine hearing aid provision out of the acute hospital Design services with patients in mind Promote self-referral Enable GP’s to be more engaged Local accessibility with good integration with specialists (ensure commissioning pathways reflect this) Practical change – repairs, maintenance and battery supply

12. Implement hearing screening for adults Plan and deliver hearing screening for over 55’s Integrate with primary care screening Look at different methods for encouraging people to come forward to check their hearing and do something about the result RNID Hearing Matters campaign Practical change – a reduction in the 10-15 years it takes for someone to take action once their hearing begins to go

13. Provide ongoing support delivered in more creative ways Research digital hearing aid usage Tie-in with quality enhancement Refocus service towards rehabilitation Ensure sign posting is available for people Review the information provided to people and work together to be more creative about its delivery and answer what people want to know and when they need to know it Practical change – integrate volunteer support schemes into routine provision

14. Changing the world for deaf and hard of hearing people ‘Not everything that is faced can be changed but nothing can be changed until it is faced’ – James Baldwin