Labour MP Calls For End To "Postcode Lottery" For NHS Ear Care Services

Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi has said that patients with hearing loss are being hit by hidden costs that should be covered by the NHS, as she continues to campaign on the issue ahead of Deaf Awareness Week.

Qureshi had held a series of shadow ministerial roles until last year, when she resigned from the Labour frontbench to vote for a SNP motion demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. From the backbenches, Qureshi told PoliticsHome she is now particularly focused on “lobbying” Labour on the importance of health issues and investment in the NHS. Having suffered from hearing loss herself for many years, Qureshi wants to see reform of audiology services offered on the NHS. 

With a number of events scheduled to mark Deaf Awareness Week 2024 between 6-12 May, Qureshi said she wanted to highlight the costs that people with hearing loss issues are faced with, including many more people having to pay for earwax removal services that used to be widely covered by the NHS.

Explaining that earwax removal is necessary for many patients before an audiologist can do further assessments of ear health and hearing loss, Qureshi said that most people end up having to pay an extra £50-60 for this service.

“A lot of people are surprised by that and don’t have £60 spare to have their ears dewaxed, so of course they don't use it,” she said.

“So I am trying to ensure that the system we have is one where if the audiologist notices that there is wax in the ear and that needs to be cleaned before any further assessments can be carried out, then allow the NHS to pay for that cleaning service.”

At the start of this year, the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) submitted Freedom of Information requests to all the integrated care boards (ICBs) in England,