Rapid Review into Paediatric Audiology
The British Academy of Audiology is pleased to present a rapid review into Paediatric Audiology.
Produced by a number of experts in the field in association with a several professional bodies, this report details the current situation within Paediatric Audiology and makes recommendations to NHS England on how best to ensure that services are meeting the needs of deaf children, from NHSP to transfer to adult services.
The main recommendations are:
1. There should be one national body responsible for oversight of the whole of paediatric audiology, from birth to the point of transfer to adult services. This should have clinical knowledge of audiology embedded into it and include oversight of newborn hearing screening, medical and scientific diagnostics, school screen, behavioural audiology, and hearing aid services for children and their families.
2. This body should then define; – clear operational standards for services delivering paediatric audiology, with clarity of responsibilities including working with other sectors across boundaries – specific targets for paediatric audiology services with reporting separate from the RTT and DM01 returns for adult audiology. – staff training requirements
3. There should be clear, joined up, commissioning of paediatric audiology services, with the newborn hearing screening programme payment unbundled, if possible, from the Maternity Payment Pathway and a realistic national tariff established for all procedures / pathways.
4. A quality assurance scheme such as IQIPS should be mandated but this scheme needs to offer both process and clinical level quality assurance to be more relevant to services.
We would encourage all members to read the report and share with their local networks.