Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his speech to the Royal College of Physicians of 30 July 2020, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of remote appointments on medical staff with hearing loss and deafness.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All organisations that provide National Health Service care and/or publicly-funded adult social care are legally required to follow the Accessible Information Standard. The Standard sets out a specific, consistent approach to identifying, recording, flagging, sharing and meeting the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, carers and parents with a disability, impairment or sensory loss. The latest guidance is set out at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/accessibleinfo/
In their letter of 31 July, NHS England and NHS Improvement provided guidance that included a clear expectation that digital services would be developed in an inclusive manner. This inclusive approach needs to take account of the needs of those for whom digital services may not be accessible or present accessibility issues, including for deaf and other disabled people. The letter is available at the following link:
Work is being developed with NHSX to specifically assess the needs of digitally excluded groups and how digital services can be adjusted to provide the widest possible access, while acknowledging that a mixed approach is necessary and non-digital channels must also remain available.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his speech to the Royal College of Physicians of 30 July 2020, whether his Department plans to issue guidance to (a) NHS Providers and (b) social care providers on remote appointments and their obligations to meet the communication needs and preferences of people with hearing loss and deafness under the Accessible Information Standard.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All organisations that provide National Health Service care and/or publicly-funded adult social care are legally required to follow the Accessible Information Standard. The Standard sets out a specific, consistent approach to identifying, recording, flagging, sharing and meeting the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, carers and parents with a disability, impairment or sensory loss. The latest guidance is set out at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/accessibleinfo/
In their letter of 31 July, NHS England and NHS Improvement provided guidance that included a clear expectation that digital services would be developed in an inclusive manner. This inclusive approach needs to take account of the needs of those for whom digital services may not be accessible or present accessibility issues, including for deaf and other disabled people. The letter is available at the following link:
Work is being developed with NHSX to specifically assess the needs of digitally excluded groups and how digital services can be adjusted to provide the widest possible access, while acknowledging that a mixed approach is necessary and non-digital channels must also remain available.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his speech to the Royal College of Physicians of 30 July 2020, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of remote medical appointments on people with hearing loss and deafness.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All organisations that provide National Health Service care and/or publicly-funded adult social care are legally required to follow the Accessible Information Standard. The Standard sets out a specific, consistent approach to identifying, recording, flagging, sharing and meeting the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, carers and parents with a disability, impairment or sensory loss. The latest guidance is set out at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/accessibleinfo/
In their letter of 31 July, NHS England and NHS Improvement provided guidance that included a clear expectation that digital services would be developed in an inclusive manner. This inclusive approach needs to take account of the needs of those for whom digital services may not be accessible or present accessibility issues, including for deaf and other disabled people. The letter is available at the following link:
Work is being developed with NHSX to specifically assess the needs of digitally excluded groups and how digital services can be adjusted to provide the widest possible access, while acknowledging that a mixed approach is necessary and non-digital channels must also remain available.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much has been spent on research on the causes of, and treatment for, tinnitus in each of the last five years.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including tinnitus. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Information on individual projects funded by the NIHR can be found at the following link:
https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/
NIHR support for tinnitus research was over £1.8 million between 2015/16 and 2019/20. This included funding for research projects, and funding for NIHR managed infrastructure to support tinnitus research. Current NIHR funding includes £15 million over five years from April 2017 to support deafness and hearing loss research in NIHR’s Manchester, University College London, and Nottingham Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs). The Nottingham BRC has a core research theme on tinnitus and noise sensitivity.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to increase funding from the public purse for research on tinnitus cures.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including tinnitus. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Information on individual projects funded by the NIHR can be found at the following link:
https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/
The NIHR’s support for tinnitus research was over £1.8 million between 2015/16 and 2019/20. This included funding for research projects, and funding for NIHR-managed infrastructure to support tinnitus research. Current NIHR funding includes £15 million over five years from April 2017 to support deafness and hearing loss research in the NIHR’s Manchester, University College London, and Nottingham Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs). The Nottingham BRC has a core research theme on tinnitus and noise sensitivity.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to update its British Sign Language translation of the Access to Work factsheet for customers.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Access to Work (ATW) is a demand-led, discretionary grant scheme administered by Jobcentre Plus (JCP). The scheme de-risks the recruitment and retention of disabled people for employers by contributing towards covering the costs of support above the level of reasonable adjustment for disabled people at work.
Since the Access to Work factsheet was published in October 2012, it has been amended 12 times in subsequent years. Access to Work recognises the importance of providing information in accessible formats and works with stakeholders to gain an understanding of the key issues. To ensure accessible information was made available during the coronavirus pandemic. British Sign Language (BSL) videos reflecting the new measures Access to Work introduced to support disabled people were developed. These videos can be accessed via the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC0aQWFFHARyXcQd-0mz0lOTZOfI15L8H
To provide accessible information Access to Work continues to work with stakeholders including UK Council on Deafness (UKCOD) to ensure key communications are translated into British Sign Language. Access to Work engages regularly with stakeholders to prioritise communications, and will be publishing advice on Access to Work “Reconsiderations” in the near future, with more communications to follow.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria her Department uses when deciding which Access to Work materials are translated into British Sign Language.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Access to Work (ATW) is a demand-led, discretionary grant scheme administered by Jobcentre Plus (JCP). The scheme de-risks the recruitment and retention of disabled people for employers by contributing towards covering the costs of support above the level of reasonable adjustment for disabled people at work.
Access to Work guidance is available in English and Welsh in html, word and PDF formats on the gov.uk website, and in addition information on DWP services is produced in accessible formats, including BSL videos.
When deciding which communications are translated into British Sign Language, Access to Work will consider the following:
Using feedback from these groups and taking account of the wider Departmental communication priorities, Access to Work will identify communications that are causing the most concern and will be the most beneficial for British Sign Language users.
Disabled people who are British Sign Language users who have queries about Access to Work can contact Access to Work via the BSL video relay service (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) to discuss queries.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the new cochlear implant for deafness be available on the NHS.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
NHS England commissions cochlear implants for patients who fulfil the criteria as described in the recently published he National Institute for Health and Care Excellence report ‘Cochlear implants for children and adults with severe to profound deafness: Technology appraisal guidance’ published on 7 March 2019 at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta566
There are a number of cochlear implant devices currently available. Specific advice about which of the devices currently available meet an individual patients requirements would be provided by a patient’s local specialist cochlear implant centre.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support research and development of new hearing aid technology.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Department funds research mainly through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The usual practice of the NIHR and other research funders is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including hearing aid technology.
In 2017-18 the NIHR was supporting four studies related to hearing aid technology and improving the use of hearing aids through its research infrastructure in the National Health Service. Between 2017 and 2019, the NIHR Clinical Research Network supported eight clinical studies related to hearing aid technology.
The NIHR funds three Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) which have research themes related to hearing loss, deafness and hearing health. The total NIHR investment in these three BRC research themes over the five years from 1 April 2017 is £10.9 million. This includes the Manchester BRC that has established the United Kingdom’s only Hearing Device Research Centre to drive innovation in interventions for hearing loss and to accelerate the translation of new hearing technologies into the NHS.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2019 to Question 269620 on Hearing Impairment, what steps his Department has taken to (a) issue and (b) promote commissioning guidance to clinical commissioning groups in relation to people with hearing loss.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Commissioning Framework for Hearing Loss Services was published in July 2016. The guidance has been shared with commissioners in England through usual channels. Third sector organisations also promoted the Framework as did hearing loss service providers. A launch event at Portcullis House hosted by the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on deafness and hearing loss was held on 19 July 2019 along with a number of events pre and post publication of the Framework, including a presentation to the British Academy of Audiology and attendance at the NHS Roadshow.