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Care Opinion

Audiology out patient appointment

Posted By Nan Reetam

"Audiology out patient appointment"

About: Braid Valley Hospital and Ballymena Health and Care Centre

(as a relative),

My elderly aunt who has mobility and heart problems, was referred to audiology regarding hearing loss (at request of my aunt).

We arrived for our appointment at 20 minutes early for the appointment and I was disappointed to find the door on the department was closed for lunch. I completely understand that staff are on their lunch break but we were left in a corridor with no seating area available until the appointment time. It was only good fortune that another niece had accessed a wheelchair, rather than use the normal walker, that she was able to be comfortable in her seat. I do feel that access to seating is an important factor as many of the patients will be elderly and be unable to stand in a corridor.

Our appointment went generally well with the audiologist who carried out a hearing review and proposed getting a hearing aid fitted. I was however frustrated to learn that a mould of my aunts’ ear could not be taken today as she has a build of ear wax that would affect the shape of the mould. I understand the rationale behind this of course but it would have been useful if we had been told to have this looked at prior to our appointment.

The GP referral occurred 9 months ago and frustratingly without an ear examination at the time or since. The GP surgery, in Ahoghill, also no longer do ear wax removal and I have now got an appointment with a pharmacy to clear her ear wax.

This now means further outings for someone who is unable to be mobile for long, and a further delay in her hearing aid fitting. There is also an additional cost for an elderly pensioner. Had we known to look into ear wax removal I would’ve made sure that this had taken place in advance of our audiology appointment which would make the process more efficient for everyone.

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Responses

Response from Tracy Pinkerton, Audiologist, Audiology, NHSCT 9 months ago
We have made a change
Tracy Pinkerton
Audiologist, Audiology,
NHSCT

Submitted on 26/07/2023 at 12:51
Published on Care Opinion at 14:28

Thankyou for taking the time to share your experience when attending the Audiology department.

The doors are closed at lunch time, this ensures security of the department and equipment in the absence of staff. I am aware that seating which was available previously on the corridor outside the department has been removed. Today I have placed chairs onto the corridor again.

It is unfortunate that there was enough wax to prevent impression taking at the appointment, this is for safety reasons and prevents damage to the ear. The criteria for referral to Audiology is normal ears with no abnormality, this can only be ascertained if there is no wax. Therefore ears should be examined by the GP prior to the referral. Audiology assumes this criteria is met. We could recommend further examination prior to assessment but this would significantly impact GP services.

If you have any further queries contact the department directly via email or phone to discuss but we very much look forward to addressing your Aunts hearing needs.

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