Thousands of children with hearing problems have been misdiagnosed in NHS units

Thousands of children with deafness and hearing problems have been misdiagnosed in NHS hearing units across England, with officials accused of being slow to recognize the problem.

NHS England documents leaked The Sunday Times suggest that 1,540 children have been misdiagnosed since 2019 and some were given the all-clear when they had significant problems. According to the reports, around 480 children suffered moderate or severe damage, resulting in permanent delays in speech and language development. Affected parents said their children were behind in school as a result.

All 140 audiology departments in England have been reviewed by experts and there are concerns about 90. NHS England has been aware of the scale of the problem for a year, but the newspaper reported that action was only taken last week after it began asking questions to provide.

NHS England wrote to local leaders on Tuesday, urging them to begin a review of their services and recall patients if necessary. However, the review may not be completed until March next year.

An NHS England source said: “We have a situation where hundreds of children may have been seriously misdiagnosed, which could have a permanent impact on their development.” NHS England has known this for a year, chief executive Amanda Pritchard has been informed, but it no money was provided. Nothing was made public until last week. We lost a whole school year – we forgot about the children in all of this.”

Amy Denman’s daughter Scarlett was three years old when she was misdiagnosed. After her teachers noticed something was wrong, Scarlett was referred to Grimsby Hospital and diagnosed with glue ear, a buildup of fluid in the middle ear.

Ms Denman said: “We went back and forth and the audiologist said her hearing was worse or better. At one point they said they couldn’t get readings because she didn’t comply.”

A private audiologist eventually diagnosed Scarlet with cochlear-related hearing loss in both ears and informed her that she urgently needed hearing aids. She’s now taking private lessons to try to catch up.

Jonathan Lofthouse, chief executive of Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I would like to apologize to Scarlet and her family for the service they received from our audiology department.

“I would also like to apologize to the other families with a child who was not properly diagnosed in our audiology service. We have now seen all of the children identified as part of our comprehensive investigation and are ensuring they receive the treatment and support they need.”

Health Minister Wes Streeting was not informed of the situation until September 20th.

He told The Sunday Times: “This is an appalling state of affairs and further evidence that the NHS is broken.” It is clear that audiology has been neglected as there is a lack of clinical specialists and trainees in the field and patients are suffering. It is outrageous that these failures will have potentially serious consequences for children’s development.”

Mr Streeting said his officers were working with NHS England to recall children “as quickly as possible for testing and take action to ensure this never happens again”.

An NHS England spokesperson said: “We know the scale of the challenges facing audiology services will be worrying for many families and the NHS fully recognizes the importance of timely intervention and support for those affected.”