9:58pm Saturday 1st March 2008
By Gordon McCully
Hospitals in Chorley and Preston have cleared waiting lists a month ahead of schedule and fitted more than 12,000 hearing aids.
It's part of a half-a-million pound initiative to upgrade old analogue aids with a modern digital piece.
The new digital aids fit behind the ear and look very similar to the sets they are replacing but can process sound better, are specifically set to compensate individual hearing needs and are more reliable.
Anyone diagnosed with a hearing problem has been fitted with the latest hearing aid technology and priority for replacement aids was given to war pensioners and the registered blind under the scheme.
Chorley and South Ribble Hospital and Royal Preston Hospital replaced the aids of 6,300 patients with the modern technology and a further 5,700 patients who have been diagnosed with hearing problems have received new digital sets since their introduction in April 2004.
In September 2007, Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust awarded an extra £90,000 to Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - which runs the two hospitals - to fund weekend and additional clinics to meet the waiting list target to clear the numbers seeking a replacement aid by the end of March.
Carole Robinson, the trust's audiology manager, said: "The analogue hearing aids were developed in the 1970s and the new aids use modern technology and are programmed to meet the patients hearing loss which gives them a much clearer sound.
"The directional microphones in these aids also help the patient to hear better when there is background sound.
"We are delighted to have cleared the backlog of people waiting to update their old analogue aid with a new version.
"Staff have worked extremely hard to cope with the demand for hearing aids which doubled our workload since the launch of the initiative to update the technology."
Tony Curtis, chief executive, said: "The announcement by the government to fund new digital hearing aids created a huge pressure on the service.
"This is a tremendous achievement and I would like to congratulate staff for their hard work."
Doreen Hounslea, director of community engagement, at Central Lancashire PCT, added: "Working closely with the trust we identified a capacity shortfall for the latest type of hearing aid provision for our patients.
"We are delighted to have provided this funding which has had a positive impact on around 12,000 people's lives by providing digital hearing aids."
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