Health: Hearing Loss

Baroness Tyler of Enfield Excerpts

Monday 17th December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I am sure the Health and Safety Executive will take my noble friend’s comments to heart.

[Baroness Tyler of Enfield]

My Lords, given the prevalence of hearing loss among our ageing population, will the Minister say what is being done to ensure that hearing loss is being effectively managed in residential care homes for the elderly? What steps are the Government taking to work with the regulator to ensure that providers are being held accountable for responding to the needs of people with hearing loss?

[Earl Howe]

My noble friend raises a very important point about care homes. There have been considerable improvements in services for people with hearing loss over recent years. The waiting times for assessment and treatment for hearing problems in adults have been considerably reduced. The health and social care reforms provide opportunities to improve services further. For example, two-thirds of PCT clusters have chosen adult community hearing assessment services as a priority area in which to extend patient choice of provider. We expect that work to continue when CCGs take over.