Audiology Services: Doncaster

Sally Jameson Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sally Jameson (Doncaster Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Let me start this debate by welcoming the Minister to her seat and to her new role, as I believe that this is her first time responding from the Front Bench. I am sure that she will be excellent, and I look forward to her response.

Doncaster has a long and proud history of supporting the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. It is home to the historic Doncaster school for deaf children, which was founded on 2 November 1829 by Rev. William Carr Fenton. That legacy continues today through the Carr Fenton Foundation site, which provides a nationally recognised resource, including a nursery, Yorkshire Rose college, employability services, and so much more. However, not long after I was elected, it became clear to me that audiology services in Doncaster were a huge cause of concern to many of my constituents. People were waiting years for basic appointments, hearing aids and even essential hearing aid repairs—sometimes three, four or five years.

[Jo White (Bassetlaw) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for bringing this debate to the House. It is not just Doncaster that is impacted by this issue, because Doncaster and Bassetlaw teaching hospitals NHS foundation trust stretches right across Bassetlaw. I have had similar experiences with my constituents; in fact, every time I have a meeting or a coffee morning, or am knocking on doors, I will find somebody who has been waiting years for treatment. Today, a coach tour of 50 constituents came to the House, and two of them have had problems getting treatment for audiology issues.

I will talk about Martin, who I met this morning. He has hearing aids, and had issues with them, as his hearing had changed. He has waited more than three and a half years to get them replaced. In fact, he can no longer use them, because they do not meet his needs. That is one story; there are many more. While I know that the situation is improving, and treatment is given every time I raise a case with the hospital, there are many thousands of people across my constituency who face this situation. This is a very important issue, and I thank my hon. Friend again for raising it.

[Sally Jameson]

That goes to show that this is a widespread issue. This is happening not just in Doncaster, but further afield, and thousands upon thousands of people have been impacted. At one stage, the audiology service at Doncaster royal infirmary temporarily shut down. While some of the emergency cases and children’s cases were reallocated to neighbouring services, a lot of people were left with pretty much nothing. They were totally uncertain about when, or even if, they would receive an appointment.

The impact on the hard-of-hearing community in my area has been truly devastating. Waiting lists have grown well into the thousands, and many people have felt isolated and forgotten. During this difficult period, the integrated care board and the Doncaster and Bassetlaw hospital trust have worked to improve the service, but as my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (Jo White) has pointed out, that took a lot of time. Alongside campaigners Maggie and Paul, who formed the Doncaster Audiology Action Group, and my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher), we held regular meetings with the NHS to press for action. With the support of the fantastic Healthwatch team, an audiology action event was held last month, giving residents the opportunity to access information about the service and receive basic hearing aid repairs, as well as to speak directly to stakeholders and support services.

There is still a long way to go; the waiting list is still too long. Constituents contact me, and there are times when I can contact the hospital and we manage to speed up treatment, but not in all cases. Eighteen months on, improvements are beginning to show. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the dedicated audiology team at Doncaster royal infirmary, who have worked tirelessly to try to turn the service around. However, this experience has shown me just how important audiology services are, yet how often they are overlooked.

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

I agree with my hon. Friend that the audiology action day was phenomenal, and that those in the audiology services at Doncaster royal infirmary are doing everything they can to improve the service that they offer my constituents, who are their patients. I have been exploring other opportunities; for example, I have been working with Specsavers in Thorne, to see whether there are services available on the high street that we can maximise and use. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to work with the integrated care board, and either use high-street shops that can provide patients with services much closer to home, or introduce pop-up services, maybe in isolated rural areas, like mine in the Isle of Axholme?

[Sally Jameson]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. As he knows, some appointments were outsourced during this period, but if we are honest, it was not enough. The waiting list is still far too long, and too many people have been waiting four or five years, so part of our collective ask as MPs for these areas is that the Minister continues to press the ICB to look at what resource is available for outsourcing more to the high street—at least in the short term—so that we can clear the backlog and get the waiting list back under control in a more effective way.

Without proper audiology care, lives can be fundamentally changed. People become isolated from their families, their communities, and society as a whole. I have had people get in touch with me who have stopped going to family events because they cannot hear the conversation properly—they end up sitting in a room, not enjoying themselves and unable to participate in conversations. That is incredibly isolating, and in a world where we talk a lot more about loneliness, particularly following the covid pandemic, that needs extra scrutiny. Just by clearing the waiting list and getting people appointments, we can really change lives. Hearing loss also affects confidence and wellbeing. I have heard from constituents who have been worried about keeping their job because they cannot hear properly on the telephone. This impacts all age groups, and those at all stages of life. This experience has shown me personally just how important audiology is.

[Jo White]

I am concerned about the link between loss of hearing and dementia. If somebody who is experiencing hearing loss goes down that horrible path of dementia and loss of memory, the lack of communication can spiral and make their condition explode. It becomes much more life-changing, much more quickly. Access to audiology services for people with dementia, or symptoms of dementia, is absolutely imperative, and I am so worried that those people are missing out on this very important course of treatment.

[Sally Jameson]

My hon. Friend is completely right. In a world in which we focus a lot on how we can treat and slow the progress of dementia and Alzheimer’s, this is something we really need to look at. That is key, and it is worrying and disappointing to us all that our constituents will be more susceptible to this issue because they do not have the service that might be available in other areas.

[Lee Pitcher]

My hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (Jo White) mentioned dementia. This is Dementia Action Week. The ability to hear is so important, not just for the obvious reasons, but in the broader context of dementia. This is about dignity and being able to enjoy precious moments. The Alzheimer’s Society has a regular “singing for the brain” event at Cantley community centre, and it is a beautiful way to bring people together. The ability to hear, converse and grasp that music is so important. Does my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster Central (Sally Jameson) agree, in Dementia Action Week, that we must continue to fight for audiology services for that reason? What a wonderful way to show that we care—doing something in this place to help all those people who will live with dementia in the coming years.

[Sally Jameson]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. I reassure him that I will not attend the Alzheimer’s Society’s “singing for the brain” event in Cantley, as that would be devastating for everyone who had to hear it. It is important that we start to raise awareness of the knock-on effects that poor audiology services can have on wider society, and on people’s health generally.

I ask the Minister to consider the following important points. First, will she ensure that the NHS 10-year plan includes greater investment in training audiologists across the country, so that areas like Doncaster never again face such severe staff shortages? But this is not just about investment; it is also about raising awareness. Many young people would not even consider audiology as a career, and would not even be aware that it exists. Part of this is making sure that the workforce plan reaches out to young people, and informs them about the different jobs available in the NHS, as opposed to just the traditional ones that everyone thinks about. We need to do more of that locally, and I know my hon. Friends here will that that point into schools and colleges. We have a new university technical college, specialising in medical science, opening in Doncaster in the not-too-distant future. I will definitely be banging the drum on this, along with my hon. Friends, to make sure that audiology is included, so that people understand from an early age that it is a good career, available to them.

Secondly, will the Minister carefully consider the recommendations of the Kingdon review, including the recommendation on the introduction of a single professional register for audiologists, improved governance for audiology services and reform of how children’s audiology services are delivered? It is so important that we get audiology right at the earliest possible stage, because when these problems are missed, it can be truly damaging later in life. It is so important that we capture young people who require support, and also that lessons are learned from audiology failures, so that we do not find this happening again. Whether in Doncaster or in other parts of the country, it is important to look at that. Potentially under-resourced or at-risk NHS diagnostic and children’s services should also be highlighted, so that immediate action is taken to make sure that services do not fall below standard.

If the situation in Doncaster and Bassetlaw shows us anything, it is that audiology can no longer be treated as a Cinderella service in our NHS. If we are really going to move to prevention as opposed to cure, it is really important that this becomes a recognised priority, so that deaf and hard-of-hearing people receive not only the support they need, but the quality of life that they deserve. I hope that this debate is just the start of an important conversation that needs to take place here in Westminster and across the country.