| Anger over delays |
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Anger over 'shocking' delays for hearing aid upgrades. Patients who are hard of hearing are waiting for up to two years to have old-fashioned hearing aids replaced with digital instruments. Patients at St John's Hospital in Livingston were waiting 78 weeks, Borders General had waits of 56 weeks and Ninewells in Dundee stood at 52 weeks. The average wait in Scotland was 29 weeks. The British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists (BSHAA) said it was "shocking" how long people were having to wait for hearing aid upgrades across the UK. Waiting times for first-time hearing aid fitting appointments did fall in Scotland last year, down from 41 weeks last year to between 29 and 31 weeks in 2006. But Karen Finch, the BSHAA president, said: "What is most shocking is the length of time people who already have an analogue hearing aid are having to wait to get that upgraded to a digital one. Most of these people are older, and in many cases very old." Jackie Sansbury, director of strategic planning at NHS Lothian, said: "We are prioritising the provision of digital hearing aids to patients newly diagnosed with hearing difficulties. This targets our resources to the people in most need." A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said: "We have invested an additional £17 million to NHS Boards to modernise and improve their audiology services, so every patient can get a hearing aid of a type that is best suited to their needs." Click here to return to the Hearing Aid News page.
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