– in the Scottish Parliament at on 23 February 2023.
Sue Webber
Conservative
There are well-documented issues with paediatric audiology services in NHS Lothian. Constituents of mine have a four-year-old daughter who suffers from progressive hearing loss and has been waiting for more than 20 weeks for an assessment at the paediatric audiology service at Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Children and Young People. To my dismay, the family have now been told that they must wait a further 11 months for any assessment for their daughter, who is currently 778th on the waiting list. I hope that that is not too uncomfortable for either the First Minister or the health secretary to hear.
With progressive hearing loss, a quicker assessment can mean a much better outcome and life for Annika and other children like her. What will the First Minister say to Annika and her family while they wait—and wait—for what would be almost a quarter of Annika’s life?
Nicola Sturgeon
Scottish National Party
In relation to Annika’s case, I would of course be very willing to look into the particular circumstances. I do not want to see any child wait that length of time for access to care and treatment. The member is right to say that that is so important to their quality of life.
More generally, and as has been alluded to, there have been issues with the service in Lothian, and the vast Majority of the recommendations that came out about some of those issues have already been accepted and the work has been completed. We will continue to work with NHS Lothian to ensure that the quality of the service that everybody relies on is as they have a right to expect it to be.
On the individual case, I will of course be willing to look into the matter if the details can be provided to my office.
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