NHS England has published updated Technical Guidance to support the delivery of the Paediatric Hearing Services Improvement Programme in England. The guidance sets out the processes, standards and expectations for delivering safe, high-quality review, recall and reassessment within paediatric audiology services following the national review programme.
The document provides a consistent national framework for NHS England regions, integrated care boards (ICBs), providers and subject matter experts involved in review, recall and reassessment activity. It covers key areas including communication with families, service assurance levels, quality indicators, waiting list triage, ABR diagnostic review processes, harms assessments, mutual aid arrangements and performance reporting.
A strong emphasis is placed on compassionate communication with families throughout the review and recall process, recognising the importance of clear, honest and timely information to support children and their families. The guidance has been developed with input from clinical experts, parents and the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS).
The guidance also introduces a national service assurance framework, with services assessed against five assurance levels ranging from Paused through to UKAS IQIPS accredited, supporting a consistent approach to quality improvement across paediatric audiology services.
BAA encourages members involved in paediatric audiology, service leadership and quality improvement to familiarise themselves with the new guidance and consider how it will support ongoing service development and assurance activities.