1. Inquiry Day – Healthy Staffordshire Select Committee 25 November 2015

2. Our 15 minutes Four sections 1 – Policy 2 – Scorecard 3 – Summary 4 – Q&As

3. Three Policy Points 1.NHS on the hook, again = culture 2.Costs = myth, shortcut or “?” 3.People not using hearing aids - root cause?

4. NHS ON THE HOOK, AGAIN “Losing your hearing is a normal part of the ageing process, but because it happens gradually you may not notice any change […] It is important to identify hearing loss early as treatment is more likely to be effective when problems are diagnosed early” “ evidence [based review] identified 11 principal risk factors associated with functional decline in older people [….] By targeting these risk factors, the Guide can contribute to supporting people to stay well for longer, particularly over the winter period, and improve the quality of life of people and their carers.” What does the guide say about hearing? “A number of published reports have highlighted the need to recognise hearing loss as a major public health issue which is often associated with other long term conditions, and as such should be considered within national and local strategies and plans.” “The first argument we make in this Forward View is that the future health of millions of children, the sustainability of the NHS, and the economic prosperity of Britain all now depend on a radical upgrade in prevention and public health. Twelve years ago Derek Wanless’ health review warned that unless the country took prevention seriously we would be faced with a sharply rising burden of avoidable illness. That warning has not been heeded - and the NHS is on the hook for the consequences.”

5. COST = MYTH, SHORTCUT OR “?” Benefits Costs Benefits: There are both short and long term benefits for patients In the long term, choice has the potential to reduce pressures on health and social services that could result from unaddressed hearing loss Source: Monitor

6. PEOPLE NOT USING HEARING AIDS = ROOT CAUSE? CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT “NHS England is also responsible for ensuring that CCGs meet this core statutory duty. [..] Where CCGs are found to be at risk of failing to deliver these improvements, NHS England, through its local teams, will support CCGs to make the required improvements, with statutory intervention powers remaining a last resort where CCGs demonstrably lack the capacity to make these improvements.” “[M]ost respondents surveyed said they were finding their hearing aids beneficial in terms of improving their lifestyle (92%).”

7. Policy - Summary 1 – NHS England and the Department of Health - Hearing loss is a major public health issue 2- Monitor benefits > costs. Let’s ask all CCGs to make savings, not cuts 3 – If people are not using hearing aids – fix the system, don’t penalise the population

8. Scorecard – a “robust process” 80 85 73 93 100 Spot the odd one out…

9. Scorecard – a robust process? No

10. Summary 1 – Two years is too long to sit on a score. South Staffs CCGs should not proceed without scoring this service again. This should be mandatory 2- We will continue our research into North Staffordshire CCG. We will share our findings with you. and one suggestion: 3- We ask you to send a signal to other regions about taking shortcuts and age-discrimination

11. CONCLUSION Q&As