Hearing impairments should be diagnosed at the earliest possible stage. Photo: Shutterstock

All hearing-impaired students should ideally be grouped in one dedicated school to avoid having teachers and interpreters travelling to and fro, according to the Commissioner for Health.

In an investigation on the problems being faced by people with hearing problems, Charles Messina pointed out that 68 per cent of deaf children did not proceed to post-secondary education.

Grouping all hearing-impaired students into one school, located centrally, would avoiding having teachers and interpreters waste time on travel, Mr Messina suggested, inviting the education authorities to explore the feasibility of the idea.

The report notes that a good percentage of the money spent on the supply of hearing aids was being wasted because patients later opted for those supplied by the private sector at their own cost.

Patients preferred digital hearing aids to the analogue type. The government only supplies the digital model to children under 16, while adults get an analogue one after taking a means test.

Mr Messina is pushing for the provision of more acceptable hearing aids. If entitled patients preferred a different type of hearing aid to what the hospital provided, the patient could be refunded (against fiscal receipts) the sum the hospital had paid for the aid it had at its disposal.

All newborns should be screened so those having hearing impairments are diagnosed at the earliest possible stage.

Recommendations included a text message service for 112 call assistance, subtitles on television and screening for all newborns

Mr Messina recommended the employment of interpreters, especially in educational institutions and hospitals.

Other recommendations included the provision of a text messaging service when assistance from the emergency line 112 was needed, the provision of subtitles on television and subsidised rates for deaf people to send text messages.

To address the waiting lists at the audiology unit, the government could recruit audiologists from the private sector and those who were retired to provide a service on a public-private partnership basis.

More space should be provided at the ENT outpatients unit and there should be more operating theatre time available.

Over the last few years, surgeons had introduced no fewer than 27 different types of operations, yet they still had less theatre time than had been available at St Luke’s Hospital.

There is no clinical chairman responsible for the ENT department.

Mr Messina proposes the establishment of an ad hoc committee aimed at bringing the various difficulties and challenges encountered by people with hearing problems to the attention of the authorities and also recommending a way forward.