Vol. 568 No. 5
347 Mr. Carey asked the Minister for Health and Children if there is an 11 month waiting list for hearing aids with the Northern Area Health Board; if so, if there are arrangements in train to reduce this list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16566/03]
The provision of community audiology services in the Northern Area Health Board (NAHB) is a matter in the first instance for the Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA).
The chief executive officer of the ERHA has informed me that the authority has written to the Deputy regarding the waiting times for accessing the community audiology service in the ERHA.
Since 2000, my Department has provided additional funding of €2.131 million for a range of developments in the service such as a pilot project on the provision of digital hearing aids and a sponsorship programme for the training of clinical staff for the community audiology service. One clinician is currently being sponsored by the NAHB; she will take up duty with the board once she qualifies. Furthermore, my Department is engaged with staff associations at the Health Service Employers Agency (HSEA) on a restructuring of the clinical grades associated with the community audiology service. This restructuring will benefit the users of the community audiology service and address the issues of recruitment and retention of trained clinical staff. I expect these developments will significantly reduce waiting times for the service.
