This was an extensive investigation into the provision of a specific public health service. It began with a complaint to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman and it ended with the BAA carrying out an audit of care provided by the department between 2009 and August 2021.

Lothian Paediatric Audiology Services, part of the NHS Lothian Health Board, provided care to more than 22,000 children over 45,000 appointments during this period. The BAA audited 1,113 children.

At the outset, 103 were removed from the audit due to insufficient records. For more than 34% of the remaining children, the audit identified moderate or significant concerns about the treatment provided. Less than 12% of the cases audited had no concerns raised.

Jonathan Howatt is a Senior Solicitor, Thompsons

Among instances where children had been failed were numerous examples of accurate diagnosis of audiology problems being delayed or missed entirely, and treatments such as cochlear implantation or hearing aids being identified as necessary but never provided.

If the results of the audit are an accurate reflection of care provided to the overall number of children treated, the impact of this Health Board’s failings has caused devastation to the lives of thousands of children.

The report was damning in its conclusions of the standard of care provided. The Health Board was advised, and agreed, to immediately stop Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) Testing in September 2021, a decision which saw children being sent to neighbouring Health Boards for assessment.

For many parents, the outcome of the BAA investigation was shocking; for others, it merely confirmed what they had feared for some time. Their children had been badly let down.

During the 10-year period examined by the audit, it was found that none of the British Society of Audiology or Newborn Hearing Screening protocols had been followed.

The BAA report made almost 40 recommendations to help ensure the service could be considered safe and fit for purpose moving forward. The service was found to have inaccurate in-house training with no form of external performance assessment, along with a lack of leadership, knowledge and quality assurance. It was clear from the report that there was a lot of work to be done to regain public confidence.

Many children under the care of Lothian Paediatric Audiology Services during the 10 year period have been wrongly viewed as “slow” or “disruptive” for a large part of their early years, all because of an undiagnosed hearing condition. Thompsons represents a number of the affected families and we are encouraged to hear that some but not all of those affected children have now been contacted and attempts are being made to provide appropriate treatment going forward.

Unfortunately, for many this will be too little too late. It is well-established medical opinion that treatment opportunities missed at the crucial developmental stages in young children cannot be recaptured in later life.

The reality is that many of these children will be dealing with the consequences of the Health Board’s failings for years to come, perhaps the rest of their life. It is therefore extremely important that every avenue is explored to help return them to the position they would have been in but for the negligent care they received.

Jonathan Howatt is a Senior Solicitor, Thompsons

Healthcare professionals failed vulnerable children - Jonathan Howatt