Scotland leads way with standards for hearing services

Published on Monday 27 April 2009 22:52

NATIONAL standards for the treatment of people with hearing loss are to apply in Scotland in a UK first.

The move was announced yesterday by public health minister Shona Robison. She said the standards will help adults and children and will cover hearing aid technology suited to individual needs, information on the performance of local audiology services, and waiting-time targets.

Launching the standards at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Ms Robison said: "Scotland is again leading the way and setting up robust models for other countries to learn from."

Delia Henry, director of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People Scotland, said: "We welcome the standards, not only because they set a quality of service benchmark for adults requiring hearing aids but, crucially, they also cover rehabilitation services so people can expect better post-fitting support to get used to wearing the essential piece of equipment that transforms their hearing."