A new state-of-the art Audiology Hub has opened at Lister Hospital, designed to improve patient experience and reduce waiting lists within our hearing services.
The official opening took place on Tuesday 12 May, marking an important milestone in the transformation of the trust’s hearing services and part of significant investment in both the audiology facility and staffing.
Investment in the service was needed following immediate actions set out as part of the NHS Paediatric Hearing Services Improvement Programme in 2023. This led to the trust pausing its children’s audiology provision.
Chief Executive Adam Sewell-Jones said: “The new Audiology Hub is a vital step forward and is part of our long-term ambition on becoming a centre of excellence for audiology.
“We recognise the impact that past service challenges have had on patients and families, and we are fully committed to delivering the high-quality care they deserve. The investment in this new facility allows us to improve both the environment and the care we provide our patients.”
For children, the new hub includes two gold-standard testing suites equipped for Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA) – a behavioural hearing test for infants and toddlers (typically 6 months to 2.5 years) that uses illuminated, animated toys or screens to reward children for turning toward sound. This will allow enabling accurate assessment of younger children and complex conditions.
A separate, larger room will support neonatal diagnostics, older children’s assessments, and hearing aid fitting.
Adult services will benefit from five modern consultation rooms with integrated test booths, alongside a specialist testing room and flexible space for multidisciplinary care.
Head of Audiology Dawn Bramham added: “We are very excited to finally be opening our new Audiology Hub. This space has been designed around both patient and clinician needs. It is acoustically optimised, calm and fully equipped, enabling us to carry out assessments with greater accuracy and efficiency. Quite simply, the new space will change lives.”
The new Audiology Hub is based in Strathmore Wing at Lister Hospital, located in the Light Green Zone.
