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Thousands of children with hearing issues misdiagnosed at NHS units

Thousands of children with hearing issues misdiagnosed at NHS units

Thousands of children with deafness and hearing issues were misdiagnosed at NHS hearing units across England, with officials accused of being too slow to realize the problem.

NHS England documents leaked to The Sunday Times suggest that 1,540 children have been misdiagnosed since 2019 with some given the all-clear when they had significant problems. Some 480 children suffered moderate or severe harm, according to the papers, leaving permanent delays in speech and language development. Affected parents said their children had fallen behind at school as a result.

All 140 audiology units in England were reviewed by experts and there are concerns over 90. NHS England has been aware of the scale of the problem for a year but the newspaper reported that action was only taken last week after it started asking questions.

NHS England wrote to local chiefs on Tuesday urging them to begin a review of their services and recall patients if necessary. However, the review may not be completed until March next year.

One NHS England source said: “We have a situation where potentially hundreds of children have been seriously misdiagnosed in a way that could permanently affect their development. NHS England has known this for a year, the chief executive Amanda Pritchard has been briefed but no money has been allocated. Nothing has been done publicly until last week. We have lost a whole school year – we have forgotten the children in all of this.”

Amy Denman’s daughter, Scarlett, was 3 when she was misdiagnosed. After her teachers noticed something could be wrong, Scarlett was referred to Grimsby hospital and received a diagnosis of glue ear, a fluid build-up in the middle ear.

Mrs Denman said: “We went back and forth and the audiologist would say her hearing is worse, or it’s better. Once they said they couldn’t get any readings because she wasn’t complying.”

A private audiologist eventually diagnosed cochlear-based hearing loss in both of Scarlet’s ears and advised that she needed hearing aids urgently. She is now having private tuition to try to catch up.

Jonathan Lofthouse, chief executive at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I would like to apologize to Scarlet and her family for the service they received from our audiology department.

“I would also like to apologize to the other families with a child who has not been diagnosed properly in our audiology service. We have now seen all the children who have been identified through our comprehensive review and we are making sure they are getting the treatment and support they need.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, the health secretary was only briefed on the situation on September 20.

He told The Sunday Times: “This is an appalling state of affairs and further proof that the NHS is broken. It’s clear that audiology has been neglected, with a lack of clinical specialists and a shortage of trainees in the field, with patients suffering as a result. It is outrageous that these failings will have potentially serious developmental consequences for children.”

Mr Streeting said his officials were working with NHS England to recall children for testing “as quickly as possible, and taking action to make sure this never happens again”.

A spokesperson for NHS England said: “We know that the scale of challenges facing audiology services will be worrying for many families and the NHS fully recognizes the importance of timely intervention and support for those affected.”