GP's deaf baby girl denied twin ear implants in 'postcode lottery'

[Miss-Delectable]

GP's deaf baby girl denied twin ear implants in 'postcode lottery' - Telegraph

Dr Christine Wheatley's 11-month-old daughter Ellie has been denied full treatment because she is not blind as well as deaf.

Hampshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) has agreed to pay £33,000 for one cochlear implant but not an extra £18,000 for the second.

Dr Wheatley and husband Ed said the decision would leave Ellie at risk on roads and struggling at school.

Hampshire PCT said it made its decision after studying guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice), which issues funding recommendations.

Nice currently only recommends 'bilateral' cochlear implants for deaf people under limited circumstances, such as where someone is also blind.

But some primary care trusts do fund bilateral implants for those who are simply profoundly deaf, said Dr Wheatley, 35, from Winchester, Hants.

She said: "We find it very frustrating knowing others families in identical situations have had their bilateral operations.

"Ellie has undergone nine months of assessments and the clinicians at the Cochlear Implant Centre in Southampton support bilateral implants for her.

"I believe the PCT only considered the extra cost of a second implant, not how much less her education will cost if she has both ears operated on now.

"We believe that morally Ellie should have the operation on the NHS.

"Looking after Ellie is a joy and a pleasure but battling to get what she needs has been the worst part of the last nine months.

"As a doctor I did not realise the problems for parents of children with special needs. This is a classic case of postcode lottery care."

Cochlear implants work by stimulating inner ear nerves with electrical signals that the brain interprets as sounds, even enabling a person to understand words in a quiet environment.

Doctors at the Cochlear Implant Centre have agreed to appeal on Dr Wheatley's behalf, but she said she was not hopeful.

Mark Oaten, the Liberal Democrat MP for Winchester, said: "The second implant should really happen for Ellie as it will make a massive difference to her and her family."

A spokesman for Hampshire PCT said: "The current recommendations from NICE support unilateral implants for children and adults with severe to profound deafness; however, under these guidelines, bilateral cochlear implantation is restricted to certain conditions, including children and adults who are blind.

"We will study the updated NICE guidance when it comes out next month and will review our current position as new evidence becomes available."

 

[dreama]

That article is entirely missing the point. The poor kid shouldn't be given an implant at all at that age. They should be given tutorial in sign language instead.

I don't see why NHS has to fund CI's at all really. It should be up to adults to write to charitable organisations for donations or fund the decice themselves if they really want it done. Same as with any other piece of assistive tecnology. Why should CI's be differant. To put it under health somehow claims it's a cure which it isn't. If I wanted to get a braille note taker under NHS I wouldn't get one so why should CI's be any differant.

 

[Miss-Delectable]

Ellie has not been denied a cochlear implant

Ellie Has Not Been Denied A Cochlear Implant (from Hampshire Chronicle)

SIR - We welcome Donna Vokes's alternative viewpoint and the continued debate on the subject of cochlear implants which were the subject of the article Why Can't Society Accept Deafness' (Chronicle, August 21).

But we feel that article contained several inaccuracies which we need to address.

Ellie, our profoundly deaf daughter, is indeed due to have a cochlear implant operation in October, and we would never deny her that opportunity.

We are eternally grateful that she has been born at a time when deaf children are able to benefit from such amazing technology, and are excited that she will soon be able to hear our voices for the first time.

That she may not have to suffer the bullying, fear of crossing the road and struggle at school as Donna describes, makes her exceedingly lucky.

Unlike Donna, Ellie is so deaf she will not learn to speak normally, and will not benefit from a hearing aid in her other ear.

The fact that bilateral implants are rare in Hampshire is exactly the issue we are trying to highlight for Ellie and the relatively few children like her.

If Donna worked in other areas of the UK she would be likely to meet more children with them - they are now the norm in America and most of Western Europe.

It is not just our view that she will be less safe, less able to listen in a busy classroom, and less likely to succeed in mainstream school, but also that of the Southampton Cochlear Implant Centre backed by research evidence.

Obviously rationing in the Health Service is inevitable, but the earlier an implant is done the greater the benefit.

This is sadly why it is cost effective for children but not adults to have two.

In five years time I'm sure we will not be having this debate and it will be accepted that all children as profoundly deaf as Ellie do better with two implants.

Christine Wheatley, Littleton, Winchester.

How do they know Ellie won't be a victim of bullying?

 

[dreama]

How do they know Ellie won't be a victim of bullying?

Yes quite. I was only hard of hearing growing up and I was bullied throughout my school years.
I think that in some ways HOH can have MORE problems then the profoundly deaf because they fall between two worlds. The only way to 'fix' that is a BiBi aproach which means that they get to fit into both.

 

[jillio]

Ellie Has Not Been Denied A Cochlear Implant (from Hampshire Chronicle)

SIR - We welcome Donna Vokes's alternative viewpoint and the continued debate on the subject of cochlear implants which were the subject of the article Why Can't Society Accept Deafness' (Chronicle, August 21).

But we feel that article contained several inaccuracies which we need to address.

Ellie, our profoundly deaf daughter, is indeed due to have a cochlear implant operation in October, and we would never deny her that opportunity.

We are eternally grateful that she has been born at a time when deaf children are able to benefit from such amazing technology, and are excited that she will soon be able to hear our voices for the first time.

That she may not have to suffer the bullying, fear of crossing the road and struggle at school as Donna describes, makes her exceedingly lucky.

Unlike Donna, Ellie is so deaf she will not learn to speak normally, and will not benefit from a hearing aid in her other ear.

The fact that bilateral implants are rare in Hampshire is exactly the issue we are trying to highlight for Ellie and the relatively few children like her.

If Donna worked in other areas of the UK she would be likely to meet more children with them - they are now the norm in America and most of Western Europe.

It is not just our view that she will be less safe, less able to listen in a busy classroom, and less likely to succeed in mainstream school, but also that of the Southampton Cochlear Implant Centre backed by research evidence.

Obviously rationing in the Health Service is inevitable, but the earlier an implant is done the greater the benefit.

This is sadly why it is cost effective for children but not adults to have two.

In five years time I'm sure we will not be having this debate and it will be accepted that all children as profoundly deaf as Ellie do better with two implants.

Christine Wheatley, Littleton, Winchester.

How do they know Ellie won't be a victim of bullying?

They don't know it at all. They are out of touch with reality, obviously.

And speaking of innacuracies: the statement that bilaterals are the "norm" in America. Actually, there are more unimplanted deaf children in the U.S. than there are unilaterally and bilaterally children combined. Hardly the "norm".