Deaf services - Suffering in silence

Delays in delivering essential services to hundreds of people who are deaf or hard of hearing typifies a health system where those most in need are usually first in the firing line of cutbacks.

It is shameful that some of the most vulnerable people in society have to face waiting lists of up to two years for vital services such as new or replacement hearing aids because of cuts imposed by the HSE.

So limited is the service in some communities, according to Deafhear.ie, children and elderly people cannot access the necessary aids because of funding cuts and a shortage of specialist staff.

In parts of the south-east, for instance, where the HSE admits “a delay” is being experienced by patients on ‘routine waiting lists’, hearing aids are being issued in emergency cases or for urgent referrals.

However, when senior HSE managers are in line for bonus payments their financial rewards are unlikely to be long-fingered whereas deaf people, who find it hard to speak up for themselves, have to suffer in silence.