Hearing aid waiting time must be reduced

Waiting times of more than two years for fitting hearing aids in some parts of West Sussex are not good enough and must be reduced, says the County Council's Health Scrutiny Select Committee.

The average waiting time for a hearing aid is 47 weeks in England, but in some parts of West Sussex last year waiting lists were as long as 130 weeks, or more than two and a half years.

At some of the county's hospitals, people have to wait up to 78 weeks for their first appointment, a survey by the British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists (BSHAA) found in September 2005.

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