188体育

Purpose

This review will consider the response of NHS England to the service failures in children鈥檚 hearing services (paediatric audiology).

In December 2021, a report was published about service issues in children鈥檚 hearing services in NHS Lothian. The report focused on whether children鈥檚 hearing tests were being conducted properly and effectively followed up.聽聽

Further issues with the diagnosis of hearing issues in newborns and children were identified in other Scottish NHS trusts in 2023. Subsequent assessment of NHS audiology services in paediatric departments across England in 2023 and 2024 identified similar problems. NHS England established the Paediatric Hearing Services Improvement Programme in 2023 to address the issues and oversee remedial action.聽

The time period covered by this review, therefore, will be from December 2021 to March 2025 inclusive.

The review will make recommendations for action and identify lessons learned that are relevant to other health services.

Scope

The review will consider the response of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England to the service failures in children鈥檚 hearing services by:

• assessing the timeliness, robustness and transparency of DHSC and NHS England鈥檚 response, including how the issues were identified, escalated, addressed and communicated to the public
• conducting an assessment of the impact on the children affected, including hearing from affected families and those who have been involved in their treatment and support
• evaluating, at a high level, NHS England鈥檚 Paediatric Hearing Services Improvement Programme, the plan for reviewing individual services and cases, and the actions being taken to ensure services meet the required clinical standards, including work with integrated care boards (ICBs)
• providing recommendations to improve the ongoing response

The review will consider how the relevant governance arrangements between NHS England and DHSC could be improved and identify lessons learned by:

• assessing the robustness of NHS England鈥檚 identification and oversight processes in this case, including communication and collaboration with DHSC, especially regarding early intervention, transparency and governance
• providing recommendations to improve the handling of any future service issues and incidents

The review will consider how NHS England鈥檚 handling of any future service failures in similar services could be improved and identify lessons learned by:

• considering how NHS England鈥檚 responsiveness to concerns raised by patients, families and clinical professionals in children鈥檚 health services can be improved, and DHSC鈥檚 role in this process
• identifying a non-exhaustive list of factors that could make other health services prone to similar issues in future
• providing recommendations to strengthen NHS England鈥檚 response to future service failures

Not in scope

Due to the short timeline for this review, it is not expected to:

• conduct an assessment of the current performance of any individual services or consider in which services any future service issues may arise
• make specific recommendations related to NHS England鈥檚 quality assurance processes or regulation for children鈥檚 hearing services or any other services

Main deliverables

The main deliverable will be a written report setting out the findings and recommendations of the independent review.

Timeline

This review will be conducted swiftly, with an initial report to be delivered within 3 months of the launch date of the review, ensuring lessons learned can be acted upon promptly.

Governance

The review will be chaired by an independent expert, Dr Camilla Kingdon, reporting directly to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.