0 0 National Hearing Care Plan Working Group to develop a National Hearing Plan Friday 2 August 2024 Chime is delighted that the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly announced that he was establishing a Working Group to develop a National Hearing Care Plan. Chime has been campaigning for a National Plan for over 5 years and believes that the plan will make a real difference to the lives of those affected by hearing loss. Minister Donnelly said “I am pleased to have formed the National Hearing Care Plan Working Group which will develop a Plan with recommendations for the development of a holistic model of care.” The Minister has also tasked the group to “prepare, within two months of its commencement, costed proposals to improve capacity and enhance services” with a view to making “initial recommendations to the Minister for Health prior to the Estimates process for Budget 2025.” Chime now expects that in the near future we will begin to see real and sustainable changes in the care pathways for people with hearing loss, including an end to long HSE waiting lists and significant improvements in the quality of care and grant assistance people receive when accessing services from the private sector. Welcoming the Minister’s announcement, Chime’s Director of Advocacy Brendan Lennon said “It has been a long road to get this Working Group established. We know that that our system of hearing care is fragmented, inefficient and needs an overhaul. And we know that this will provide better value for everyone – the WHO point out that for every €1 invested in hearing care, a return of €16 can be expected over the following 10 years.” In the short term, Chime expects that the Working Group will make recommendations to address HSE audiology waiting lists – now well over 20,000 – and measures to improve both the efficiency and level of grants for hearing aids. In the medium term we hope to see enhanced oversight in the sector, improved hearing screening for both children and adults, and a public health education programme to increase awareness amongst the public of the need to address hearing issues in a timely manner. Chime will support the Working Group in any way we can and will provide updates on its work as they become available in the coming months. Links to further information: Charity calls for national hearing plan (breakingnews.ie) Hearing Loss Through the Noise (youtube.com) Chime Opening Oral Statement to Joint Committee on Health 28022024 Chime presentation to Oireachtas Committee on Health Feb 2024