Written question WQ91539

The action we are taking, in line with A Healthier Wales, is to ensure that D/deaf children are seen by the right person in the right place at the right time, and provided the right treatment as determined by their health care professional.

Our audiology policy includes a commitment to the Children’s Hearing Services Quality Standards. The standards outline what a quality service looks like in relation to access and the management of D/deafness which is principally hearing aid / implantable device management and provision of information relating to communication strategies.

A strength of the standards and NHS Wales Audiology services is the focus on working closely with other services supporting the development of children such as schools, education sensory support teams (qualified teachers of the D/deaf), speech and language therapists, community paediatricians, social services and others as appropriate.

The key to providing support for D/deaf children is early identification. The new national school entry (age) hearing screen provides a consistent approach to identifying hearing issues at age four or five. Work is on-going, with all stakeholders on a broader set of new recommendations to assure the quality of Paediatric Audiology services in the future.

Health boards are responsible for planning, commissioning and the provision of services, identifying which practitioners should deliver which interventions.

The Welsh Government ‘Talk with Me’ programme exists to support the speech, language and communication development of all children, with a particular emphasis on universal, population and targeted support. Ensuring timely access for universal and targeted support will free up capacity for those children who need access to more specialised support.

The needs of the child and the family are at the centre of planning and decision making in line with the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal Act 2018. The child and their family need to make an informed choice about the interventions used, alongside the professionals supporting their chosen intervention. However, members of the D/deaf community also have views on the right approaches to developing D/deaf people’s communication skills. These must be taken into account in any decision about access to therapies, including auditory verbal therapy. As part of delivering care, professionals continually assess the effectiveness of the treatment.

Health and Care Professions Council registered Speech and Language Therapists from every health board have collaborated to develop and agree several evidence-based care pathways to ensure quality and consistency of treatment and support.

One of these is the All-Wales Deafness pathway, which includes communication development treatment options and provides a summary of the evidence base for each. The evidence base for auditory verbal therapy is included as one of the options in the pathway. Other intervention approaches also use similar techniques outside of a formal auditory verbal therapy programme.