Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ensure every GP in England is able to offer an earwax removal service as a routine procedure.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued guidance no longer advising manual ear syringing due to risks associated, such as trauma to their ear drum or infection. NICE guidance suggests alternative arrangements for treatment of excessive ear wax, such as considering ear irrigation using an electronic irrigator, micro suction, or another method of earwax removal (such as manual removal using a probe).

General practitioner services follow this guidance and are increasingly recommending self-care methods as the primary means to support the safe removal of ear wax, such as in cases of deafness.

Commissioners should ensure that there is appropriate access to ear wax removal services which are free at the point of use, where these are necessary and clinically appropriate for a patient.