Jenni Minto, Minister of Public Health and Women’s Health, praised the work of NHS Forth Valley’s Audiology team during a recent visit to meet with local audiology staff, students and volunteers.

She also heard about the wide range of work being taken forward to enhance the skills of local staff and further improve the range and quality of audiology services available across Forth Valley.

In addition, she met with 10-year-old Adam Tasker from Falkirk who is due to undergo surgery to have a cochlear implant fitted after he experienced sudden profound level of hearing loss as a result of an injury while playing football. The Audiology team, which provides tests and treatment for both children and adults affected by hearing loss, has been working closely with Adam and his parents Gillian and Liam over the last few months and helping them prepare for the forthcoming surgery.

Jenni Minto said: “I was hugely impressed by the work underway to improve the experience of local patients of all ages and develop the skills and experience of the local audiology team.

“The care and commitment shown by the staff, students and volunteers I met was inspirational and I would like to thank the team for taking the time to meet with me and discuss the many challenges and improvements they have made to local services.”

Stephanie Doody-Orr, NHS Forth Valley’s Audiology Services Manager, said: “We were delighted to welcome the Minister of Public Health to meet some members of the audiology team based at Stirling Health and Care Village and highlight some of the great work being taken forward to reduce waiting times, improve communication across services and support local patients and their families.

“I am very proud of the team who worked tirelessly to keep audiology services running throughout the pandemic and have continued to drive forward a wide range of service developments and improvements.”

Additional Information

NHS Forth Valley’s Audiology Service has made considerable efforts to take forward a number of changes and improvements. These include:

• The development of Advanced Audiology roles to help reduce ENT waiting times.
• Training support for Band 4 Associate Audiologists to achieve a BSC degree and reach Band 5 Audiologist level
• Organising dedicated continual professional development sessions every month.
• Amending Standard Operating Procedures and protocols in line with BSA/NICE guidelines.
• Dedicated steering groups have been set up for Adult Audiology, Paediatric Audiology, Tinnitus and Audiology communications
• Staff with responsibility for newborn Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) tests (a painless test that allows audiologists to measure hearing sensitivity for babies who do not pass their newborn hearing screening or for whom there is a concern about hearing) have undergone additional or refresher training.
• Several members of the team are undertaking additional advanced professional qualifications and leadership programmes to further enhance their skills and experience