Please base your answers on the service provided as of 31 March 2022.
Section 1: About your service
Please answer the questions below based on the situation as of 31 March 2022.
1. Please provide the following information:
2. Name of person completing survey:
3. Please give the name of your audiology service/s. If you provide services on behalf of another Trust/s please provide details of all the Trusts that you provide services for below. Please write names in full and expand acronyms:
4. If you provide the services for another Trust/s, do these include diagnostic hearing assessments and hearing aid provision for children in any of these locations? Please put a cross next to the relevant answer.
If you selected Yes, we understand that your responses to the questions below may differ for each Trust. Please contact us on campaigns@ndcs.org.uk for an additional form/s.
5. We have included below, the locations where previously you, or a commissioner for your area, have told us that paediatric audiology services are provided. Please complete the table by:
Section 2: Your caseload
6. How many deaf children are there within your case load?
7. Number of births per annum your service covers
8. Age group your service covers (e.g. 0 – 18 years)
9. Number of children with permanent deafness (PCHI) on your caseload as of 31/3/22 – see definition below *
10. Number of children with glue ear likely to be persistent and require ongoing management**
11. Number of children with PCHI referred to your service from the Newborn Hearing Screen from 1/4/21- 31/3/22
12. Number of children assessed in your service and subsequently referred for CIs 1/4/21- 31/3/22
13. Total number of children with temporary deafness on your caseload as of 31/3/22 who are fitted with hearing aids
14. Total number of children with ANSD
Section 3: What services do you provide?
Please answer the questions in this section based on the situation as of 31 March 2022. Please put a cross next to the relevant answer/s.
15. What options do you have for assessing the hearing of complex/difficult to test children? Select all that apply:
16. What options are included in the current management pathway in your service for temporary conductive hearing loss? Select all that apply:
17. Are there any groups of children that you don’t currently provide hearing aids for? Select all that apply and, where applicable, explain why hearing aids are not provided to this group:
18. Do you currently provide free batteries for children’s hearing aids? Please select one answer:
19. Do you currently provide a choice of coloured or patterned moulds to children at no extra charge? Please select one answer:
20. What additional/non-“standard” paediatric services do you offer? If you have indicated no, please specify if your service refers children elsewhere for this.
21. What flexibility for appointments do you offer? Please select all that apply:
22. Which of the following forms of communication are available to patients for making bookings and enquiries? Please select all that apply:
Section 4: Waiting times
23. In the last quarter, (1 January – 31 March 2022) how many days on average did patients wait for the following? If you are not sure please estimate.
Section 5: Quality assurance and improvement
24. Has your service gained Improving Quality in Physiological Services (IQIPS) accreditation this year? Please select one answer:
25. What methods do you use for quality assurance and improvement in addition to/ or as an alternative to IQIPS? Please select all that apply.
Section 6: Staffing and training
26. How many full-time equivalent Clinical staff does your children’s audiology service have at the following levels as on 31 March 2022?
27. If there has been a reduction in the number or skill level of staff compared to last year, what are the reasons for this?
28. What steps have you taken to address any staffing issues? Please describe briefly:
29. Were all staff able to access the CPD required to meet their personal development needs in the last year?
30. What are the reasons if staff were not able to access external CPD?
31. Please indicate what roles the different members of the team can have at each grade in paediatrics. (Please select all that apply)
32. How many staff working in your paediatric service have qualifications/training at the following levels as on 31 March 2022? (Please select all that apply)
33. Which children do you refer to the local specialist education service for deaf children in your area? (Please put a cross next to all that are applicable)
34. Are you able to routinely refer directly to the following non-audiology/ external professionals?
35. Does the Children’s Hearing Services Working Group (CHSWG) in your area include a representative from the following groups?
Section 8: Assistive technology
36. As of 31 March 2022, which organisation provides the following technology?
Please put a cross in the relevant boxes to select your answers.
37. Are there any plans to stop or significantly reduce the provision of hearing equipment or accessories for hearing equipment in 2022/23? Please select one answer:
Section 9: Patient engagement
Please answer the questions in this section based on the situation as of 31 March 2022. Please put a cross next to the relevant answer/s.
38. How do you prepare young people for transition to adult services? Please select all that apply.
39. How many appointments were classed as ‘Was not Brought (WNB)’ or ‘Did Not Attend (DNA)’ in the 2021/22 financial year?
40. What strategies are used to reduce missed appointments?
Section 10: Funding and commissioning
41. How is your funding provided? Please select all that apply.
42. If you run a joint paediatric and adult service, are your budgets shared? Please select one answer:
43. Was your audiology service for deaf children commissioned differently in the 2021/22 financial year when compared to the 2020/21 financial year? (e.g. competitive tendering, any qualified provider, etc.)
44. Is your audiology service being commissioned differently or reviewed in 2022/23? (e.g. competitive tendering, any qualified provider, etc.)
Section 11: Pandemic recovery
45. Are there any areas where there has been an increase in demand following the pandemic?
46. Has your service introduced any new ways of working or changes in response to the coronavirus pandemic that you anticipate will be retained as the impact of the pandemic recedes? Please outline what these changes are (e.g. introduction of remote appointments, changes to care pathways, etc.).
Section 12: NDCS Support for services
The next questions are optional.
47. We are keen to promote and share good practice. Please let us know if there is any good practice or an innovative solution in your service that you would like us to be aware of.
Alternatively, please indicate if you would like us to contact you to discuss sharing your areas of good practice.
48. Are there any challenges to your service now, or potential future threats which you would like to discuss with NDCS to discuss how we can support you?
