To ask the Minister of Health why patients, who had their hearing loss confirmed at a Health and Social Care Trust hearing clinic, have to see a GP to get a referral to go back to get their hearing and hearing aids checked; and why they cannot contact the clinic directly to arrange appointments.

The Health and Social Care Trusts’ (HSC) Audiology Service is a lifetime service, which evolves with the service user’s needs. Service users who have had their hearing loss confirmed at an Audiology/ENT Clinic remain patients for life. Direct access for reassessment and ongoing hearing aid care is available via the service user’s HSC Trust Audiology Team.

Those clients who decide against having a hearing device fitted will be discharged from the Audiology Service and a further GP referral will be required to access the service again. A GP referral is also required for those clients who have not worn their hearing aid or attended appointments for repairs or reviews, to ascertain if there have been any significant changes to their health during the interim period.